ARCHIVED - Level 2 emergency protocols activated as gota fría flooding returns to Los Alcázares

Residents urged to stay at home with food and water supplies for at least 2 days

The Town Hall of Los Alcázares, which appears on Tuesday morning to have been the worst hit municipality in Murcia during the violent “gota fría” storm on Monday night, reports that the regional government has activated its Level 2 emergency protocols as the extent of the flooding along the western shore of the Mar Menor and in the Campo de Cartagena becomes apparent.

An orange alert for the possibility of further heavy rain remains in place in the Campo de Cartagena and Mazarrón area throughout Tuesday, and in Los Alcázares the advice issued to residents includes removing items of value from basements and storing them in high places within the home, avoiding road travel at all costs, keeping away from the seafront and from electricity pylons and, where possible, remaining at home.

At the same time, having experienced disastrous flooding as recently as this September in the previous gota fría storm, the Town Hall recommends that people should stock up with food and water for at least two days and ensure that their first aid kits are well stocked. With power cuts a likelihood a radio with new batteries and a torch are also considered essential elements of a short-term survival kit.

For some people in Los Alcázares the recommendation to stay at home has been overruled and over 100 have been evacuated from their homes in the area of the town which is becoming known as “Ground Zero” due to its being particularly susceptible to flooding is once again under water. The streets affected are Calle Joaquín Blume, Calle Los Luisos, Calle Doctor García Guillén, Calle Miguel Hernández, Calle Adelfas, Calle Girona, Calle Granada, Calle Barcelona, Calle Valencia and Calle Ourense, from where residents are being taken by coach to the church of Jesucristo de Los Santos de los Últimos Días in Avenida Libertad.

Ironically, it is reported to have stopped raining in Los Alcázares at around 2.30 in the morning, and there were no serious problems until at approximately 7.00 floodwater began to arrive from the Campo de Cartagena further inland.

Image: the scene outside the Town Hall of Los Alcázares on Tuesday morning

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