The Technical Advisory Committee of the Meteobal Plan has agreed to maintain and activate alerts across all the Balearics due to rain and storms this Saturday. As a result, in Mallorca, Ibiza and Formentera, it is recommended to avoid unnecessary travel and limit outdoor sports and social activities.
Following the meeting of the Technical Advisory Committee on Friday, according to the regional government, the orange alert (IG-1) remains in place in Ibiza and Formentera, and has also been activated in Mallorca. Due to the same phenomenon, a yellow alert (IG-0) has been activated in Menorca.
According to forecasts, the Alice storm is advancing slowly, but it has reached Mallorca and Menorca and will affect part of Mallorca with greater intensity, where the rain began to fall in the early hours of the morning. The intensity could reach Mallorca later Saturday, especially in the areas of east, the north-east and north of the island. As in Ibiza, rainfall of 40-60 l/m2 per hour and accumulations of up to 100 l/m2 in three or four hours could be recorded.
As a result, Aemet has issued an orange warning for Mallorca between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. in the east, northeast and north of the island. For this reason, the Emergency Services are asking for maximum caution this Saturday and to avoid unnecessary travel. It is also recommended that administrations and individuals avoid, limit, postpone, suspend and/or restrict outdoor activities, especially during the hours and in the areas where Aemet has raised the warning to orange level.
The Santa Eulària Town Council has suspended municipal sports and cultural activities for this Saturday until 3 p.m. According to a statement issued by the Council, this period may be extended depending on weather developments. Facilities and playgrounds will be closed, and the local administration is asking the population not to take out bulky items on Saturday and Sunday to ensure people’s safety and facilitate the work of the emergency teams.
The general recommendation from the Department of Emergencies and the Interior is to restrict all outdoor sports activities as much as possible, especially in the municipalities affected by the Aemet orange warning. It is recommended that all sporting events scheduled for Saturday that involve the movement of athletes between Ibiza, Formentera and Mallorca be suspended. These recommendations also extend to all other activities involving large numbers of people, regardless of their scope, scheduled for this Saturday in the various municipalities of the islands.
The Mallorcan municipalities affected by the orange alert this Saturday are Ses Salines, Santanyí, Felanitx, Manacor, Sant Llorenç des Cardassar, Son Servera, Capdepera, Artà, Santa Margalida, Muro, Sa Pobla, Alcudia and Pollensa. In Ibiza, those affected are Ibiza, Santa Eulària des Riu, Sant Antoni de Portmany, Sant Joan de Labritja and Sant Josep de sa Talaia, as well as the island of Formentera.
The regional government has reported that the list of municipalities may change over the next few hours depending on how the weather forecast evolves. Due to the unpredictability of the evolution of the Alice storm, it is still too early to determine the recommendations for Sunday. The forecast is favourable and, for the moment, Aemet has not activated any orange warnings in the Balearics.
The Director General of Emergencies and the Interior, Pablo Gárriz, explained after the meeting of the Technical Advisory Committee that the recommendations to limit activities seek to avoid gatherings that would have to be dispersed in case of need. He explained, this reduces the number of people on the roads, bearing in mind that these are the areas most affected by flooding.
In the case of areas of Mallorca where the warning is yellow and not orange, Gárriz has conveyed a message of caution and prevention. ‘The situation that concerns us most right now is in those municipalities where we have identified the possibility of heavy rain, hence the orange alert,’ he added.
The Director General emphasised that the Emergency Services are constantly monitoring the situation.
And Storm Alice is still affecting outdoor activing flights arriving at Ibiza Airport with delays and cancellations. According to information provided by Aena, a flight scheduled to arrive in Ibiza at 7.50 am has been cancelled. Similarly, a flight scheduled to depart for Palma capital at 8.25 am has also had to be cancelled due to the weather. Not only have there been cancellations, but a flight from Valencia to Ibiza has had to be diverted to Palma because it was unable to land. It should be noted that Aena has also reported delays in departures and arrivals, so it is recommended that you check at all times whether your flight is still operating or not.