The Education Department closes the Can Misses Primary School until Monday due to damage caused by flooding.

PalmThe Regional Minister of Education, Antoni Vera, has announced that, due to damage caused by torrential rains, the Can Misses Primary School will remain closed until Monday. The goal is to complete everything necessary to ensure the school year can continue safely for the entire educational community. It should be noted that classes were not held this Wednesday at any school in Ibiza Town, including the Sant Jordi Primary School, at all levels: Early Childhood Education (including the 0-3 cycle), Primary, Secondary, University, and special education programs, such as conservatories and official language schools. This suspension also affected the afternoon shift. The Marc Ferrer Secondary School in Formentera has also been closed. The general expectation is that classes can resume normally on Thursday, once cleaning and inspection work is completed.

The heavy rains caused by the storm have affected several educational centers on the islands of Ibiza and Formentera, especially in the municipality of Ibiza Vila, where flooding was reported both inside some centers and in the immediate urban area. Therefore, Educació has activated a special operation that includes all the technicians from the Balearic Institute of Infrastructure and Educational Services (IBISEC) available on the island, as well as a reinforcement of architects and technicians who have been specially transported from Mallorca.

The UIB also maintains the suspension of classes.

The University of the Balearic Islands (UIB) has also suspended teaching activities at its Ibiza and Formentera campuses for this Wednesday, October 1, due to the effects of the heavy rains that have affected the Pitiusas. This Tuesday had already been closed for the same reasons. Given this situation, the UIB has announced that the faculties and schools will determine how the academic activities scheduled for these days will resume.

A complicated day

The Ministry of Education issued a statement on Tuesday following instructions from the Emergency Services, which prohibited all travel to Ibiza and Formentera as a safety measure and, therefore, also prohibited picking up children from school. At the time of the announcement, students and teachers were already at schools, and in some cases, were bailing out water from the buildings with anything available. Authorities assured that students would be cared for as usual until they could safely leave the schools. All classes and activities scheduled for the afternoon were also suspended on both islands. From 4:00 p.m., families were able to access schools to pick up their children.

The heavy rains on Tuesday caused numerous incidents across the island. Several roads had to be closed due to flooding, a school was closed as a precaution, and some evacuations were ordered for safety reasons.

In Ibiza, up to 200 liters per square meter fell in just a few hours, causing numerous incidents and a devastating landscape: road closures, flooding, and preventive evacuation, as well as the closure of a school. During the night, the rain had already flooded the underpasses of the airport road, which were closed to traffic, forcing detours via overpasses. Furthermore, by 7:20 a.m. Tuesday, part of the Jesús roundabout had also been closed, according to the Ibiza Council. The intense rainfall continued throughout the morning on the island, causing chaos and a landscape of water and mud that will take days to disappear.