News
The people’s paper ISSUE NO. 1854
14 - 20 January 2021
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ADIOS FILOMENA
STORM FILOMENA, which caused chaos practically nation wide, left its mark on Almeria without the deadly virulence unleashed elsewhere. The province was spared the storm’s tragic onslaught that took two lives in Malaga and two more in Madrid and Ca latayud (Zaragoza). Instead, Almeria had to withstand heavy rain as well as two days of inces sant snow that fell in areas and municipalities 800 metres above sea level. Schools were closed, affecting 234 pupils on the first day, rising to 1,897 pupils on the second. The Diputacion provincial council launched its Winter Road Plan guaranteeing access
VELEZ-RUBIO: Awoke to a layer of snow brought by Storm Gloria.
Cold comfort at school PUPILS currently set out for school bundledup in heavy jack ets and layers of winter woollies. With the health authorities recommending wellventilated classrooms with open windows to prevent the spread of coron avirus, these were already chilly before Storm Filomena arrived with snow, rain and plummeting temperatures. The Almeria Federation of Par ents of State School Pupils (FA
PACE) has now issued a state ment to the Education authori ties complaining about lack of communication and clear instruc tions. “At FAPACE we want to state our enormous worries about the start of term, aware that all fami lies share in this unease owing to the number of Covid cases and the present low temperatures,” the communique continued. Keeping windows open and
expecting children to sit in class rooms with blankets and gloves was no way to study or enable teachers to do their jobs, FAPACE maintained. The federation declared that parents did not want intense cold added to the Covid situation their children were already enduring. Instead, they demanded “unanimous criteria and clear, precise instructions” regarding ventilation of classrooms, open
windows, use of purifiers, carbon dioxide meters, together with on line resources and partly inper son teaching.
to towns and villages after snow closed 30 roads to traffic, princi pally in Sierra de los Filabres, Al manzora and Los Velez. Although the majority were cleared, five roads still affected by snow and ice had to remain closed while drivers were oblig ed to use chains on another 15. For the first time since 2005, Almeria City also saw a few snowflakes, but these soon turned to sleet and rain. During the 72 hours that Storm Filomena remained in the province, weather stations recorded more than half of 2020’s total rainfall. Although the rain was wel comed by agricultural growers in a largely waterpoor province,
there were complaints that few would benefit from it. “Once again, as happened with Storm Gloria, we see how rain reaches the province but none of the administrations have taken steps to stop this wa ter from flowing into the sea so that it can be used for irriga tion,” declared Jose Antonio Fer nandez, president of the Almeria Federation of Irrigators (FERAL). Growers were also discour aged by the effects of Storm Filomena and plummeting tem peratures. “Production will not meet earlier expectations,” warned Coexfal, the association that rep resents the province’s fruit and vegetable growers.