Pablo Gárriz is the Balearic Government's director-general of emergencies. These come in different forms, fires and floods carrying the power to be the most devastating. For the latter, the tragedy of Sant Llorenç seven years ago will never be forgotten; the disaster in Valencia last October was close to home.
The emergency services prepare every time the met agency issues warnings for heavy rain. But there is criticism as to the number of times alerts are issued and storms don't materialise. Meteorology, he says, "isn't an exact science". "But the important thing is that the warnings and messages of responsibility are reaching society, and thus there is less risk to the population."
Town halls "are doing a great job" in establishing emergency plans, and he refers to the recently established Inuncaib, "the first integrated flood risk management body in the Balearic Islands".
On fires, he acknowledges that this summer's firefighting campaign has gone very well, but he issues a warning: "We mustn't drop our guard; some of the the worst fires have occurred outside of peak season." It is the case, though, that the islands haven't been affected by major fires this summer, unlike on the mainland. In recent years, while fires have raged in parts of the Mediterranean, they have not in the Balearics. Andratx in 2013 was the last highly devastating fire.
"There's a huge effort by many people. The initial response to a fire must be powerful and decisive in order to prevent it from spreading and getting out of control. However, we are faced with a paradox. Fires are being extinguished sooner, but debris (leaves, branches, etc.) accumulates. So, good forest management is key to neutralising the risk."
While there haven't been serious fires so far, he stresses the fact that these can and do occur outside the peak season. "The countryside is very dry now, so the risk persists. Storms with a lot of lightning are coming. Therefore, I emphasise that we must not let our guard down."