I know we are an island famous for its sunshine but is Majorca really prepared for bad weather? I ask this question as yet another storm has caused extensive damage across the island even though full warning was received. We all knew that storm Gloria was coming...so why weren’t some of the necessary precautions put into place?
Yachts on swinging anchors could have been moved into port, flood defences established in areas where the risks of flooding are high, a general warning of bad weather repeated across all news outlets until people are bored of hearing it; these are some of the precautions which could have been taken. Perhaps they were, Majorca has an excellent Civil Defence department which was on full alert, but it does seem rather strange that the same areas of the island flood every year almost at the same time of the year.
Lets face it, freak weather on Majorca is no longer uncommon so the local authorities should be spending on upgrading the drainage system and also clearing torrents. Perhaps more people should be checking the regular weather updates which come from the Palma Met Office and the Civil Defence department. Now, the island faces a nice big bill to fix the damage caused by Storm Gloria. I am not saying that a large part of the damage could have been averted but some, yes. The local authorities need to go back to the drawing board and look at how they deal with adverse weather conditions and how they keep the public informed.