ISSUE NO. 1642
22 - 28 December 2016
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COSTA DE ALMERÍA
YOUR PAPER, YOUR VOICE, YOUR OPINION
SEE COMPLETE COVERAGE OF THE FLOODS PAGES 4 & 5
Weather cheer!
WWW.EUROWEEKLYNEWS.COM
Cool heads CALM, efficient reactions played a vital role in coping with the storms registered in Almeria’s Levante area at the weekend, the fire brigade has reported. When the orange/red alert was forecast on Friday, Levante Fire Consortium explained, all staff were placed on standby in preparation for what was to come. See page 4
Christmas forecast points to drier days Rock ‘n’ rail RAIL travel between Almeria and Sevilla was disrupted at the weekend when a train hit a rock on the line near Fiñana,
leaving it in need of repairs and meaning the six passengers on board had to continue their journey to the city by road. See page 8
Long stretch ALMERIA CITY: La Cañada de San Urbano. By Simon Firth Following the unseasonably bad weather things are looking brighter for the Christmas weekend. Weather forecasters expect little rain and certainly no huge storms. This good news follows the deaths of five people as waves of up to four metres and winds of force seven and eight battered coastal areas for the second time in a month. The death toll over December’s two weekends of heavy rain now stands at seven. The bad weather has led to absolute havoc in many communities as rivers overflowed or burst their banks and many people found their homes under feet of water. Commercially the weather has also cast an unseasonal cloud over what for many is
the busiest time of the year. In San Juan de los Terreros the Guardia Civil and fire crews rescued a man on Saturday who was found stuck and clinging to reeds and canes near a stream. His car had been completely submerged. Searches are continuing for a missing 65-year-old man who disappeared in Bedar. His brother believes the heavy rain could have disorientated him after the man was seen leaving a bar during the storm. The flooding was so widespread that special road repair
Photo by Paqui Torres
teams have been sent out by Almeria Provincial Council to mend and clear highways. Machines have been working day and night in the Almanzora, Filabres and Levante areas. Minister for development, Oscar Liria, paid tribute to the work teams but added “these damages could have been avoided if the Junta had done their job and cleared the riverbeds.” In Vera a number of ground floor homes were evacuated because of the danger of flooding. Police then laid on special patrols in an attempt to
prevent any looting. The need for round-theclock manpower meant all Levante fire service staff were placed on call over the weekend while the weather station at Almeria airport registered 70.6 litres of water per sq metre on Saturday - beating the previous record set in 2009. The excessive rain might have been good news for farmers at another time of year, but not in December. Farmers’ leaders voiced their demands for better infrastructure to collect and store rainwater.
ALMERIA’S Public Prosecutor will be requesting a 16-and-a-half year jail sentence for a man who attacked two National Police officers at the city’s Intermodal station, stabbing one in the face. Along with the jail sentence of attempted manslaughter and attacking members of a police force, the prosecutor has requested €8,375 in damages for the injured officer. See page 9
Hang fire THE mayor of Albox and the Provincial Council have reached an agreement which will allow the fire station to remain open. Officials sat down to discuss the controversial matter and eventu-
ally decided the station will continue to function with €150,000 funding from the Provincial Council and the promise of a new fire engine. See page 55
Twitchers’ treat FOR the first time a marabou stork has been spotted in Cabo de GataNijar Natural Park. Environmental officers from the Junta de Andalucia reported having seen the bird within the protected nature park and will this week be attempting to capture it on camera. See page 61