Clean the torrents... of chalets

It has been eight years since the Sant Llorenç flash flood. The tragic death of 13 people brought to the table how poorly things have been done for decades, and how we have accumulated people and homes in places where it was not only already prohibited to do so, but where common sense also dictated it was not a good idea.

It must be said that some of the houses affected by the massive rise of the torrent have been built for centuries. But there are also others that have not. It could have been avoided to build on flood-prone areas, but this has not only not stopped, it still continues. The Palma City Council, without going any further, spends the day trying to sneak in villas and even gas stations in places where nothing can be built.

Why? For the same reason as always. The urban planning business has no friends, beyond the money. And some officials are very clear that this comes before everything else. Unfortunately, when the drama of Sant Llorenç still comes up in conversation today, the reaction of many people is often the obsessive cleaning of the torrents. Understanding cleaning as razing all the vegetation, because someone once said that this was what clogged the water and caused problems.

Well, no. Vegetation slows down the speed of the water, and it should be there, with all the nuances that may be necessary. But what should not be there are houses, near the torrents. And that is what it seems we do not understand. So, in the next conversation including a brother-in-law, please, let's not accept that the vegetation of the torrents must be razed. What must be razed is the insatiable urban planning that razes us. And every time someone tells you that the basins and torrents must be cleaned, answer: “Yes, but of chalets”.