The Balearic Islands activate the special plan for the risk of floods due to the danes

PalmaThe Government will activate this Saturday the pre-alert phase of the Special Plan for Flood Risk (Inunbal), coinciding with the start of the period of greatest risk of isolated high-level depressions (dana) in the Islands.

The President of the Government, Marga Prohens, announced the measure after chairing a meeting of the integrated management body for flood risk this Friday at the Consolat de Mar, where coordination, prevention, and response mechanisms for possible intense rainfall episodes were reviewed.

"Zero risk does not exist, but it does depend on us to be prepared," stated Prohens, who argued that coordination between administrations, prevention, and citizen self-protection are the main tools for reducing the effects of adverse meteorological phenomena.

The president also warned that the warming of the Mediterranean forces us to anticipate episodes that can be "increasingly violent." The Government has requested information from the UIB, Imedea, Socib, Aemet, and the Advisory Council on Climate Change after a temperature above 30 degrees was recorded in the Mediterranean this summer.

According to experts consulted by the Executive, the warming affects not only the surface of the sea but also penetrates deeper and deeper, and is related to more intense and prolonged heatwaves and the acceleration of the effects of climate change.

More municipal plans

During the meeting, the Director General of Emergencies and Interior reported on the activation of the Inunbal pre-alert phase to coordinate the involved agencies, share meteorological forecasts, review protocols, and pool available resources.

The Government also maintains a technical and scientific agreement with Aemet to integrate knowledge, infrastructure, and resources in view of the speed with which flood episodes can occur in the Balearic Islands: between intense rainfall, flash floods, and water reaching risk areas, little time can pass.

At the municipal level, the Balearic Islands have gone from 9 to 31 approved emergency and local action plans in one year. Currently, there are 14 municipal emergency plans, 14 for forest fire risk, and 3 specific ones for flood risk.

In addition, ten plans are in progress, and seven municipalities have initiated consultations to draft them. The Executive plans to reach at least 48 planning documents in the coming months.

Regarding torrents, the Directorate General of Water Resources has acted over the last three years on 486 kilometers, 176 of which were during the last year, with cleaning and consolidation tasks. By the end of July, 67 kilometers had already been intervened, compared to 50 in the same period last year.

These actions are complemented by a line of aid of 300,000 euros and by authorizations for owners of adjacent properties to clean the corresponding sections.

Campaign to prepare before the storm

Prohens has also announced an institutional awareness campaign with the slogan ‘The best protection begins before the storm’, which will include illustrations and infographics with the measures that citizens must adopt before an adverse meteorological episode.

The Government will apply this course a new action protocol in the event of emergencies in educational centers and will promote the program Education X Emergencies, in which nearly 1,200 teachers and professionals have already been trained.

A guide for commercial establishments has also been prepared and, with the Balearic Football Federation, an action protocol for football fields is being prepared in the face of Civil Protection alerts.

“We cannot prevent these phenomena from occurring, but we can do everything in our power to offer maximum protection and safety,” Prohens stated. “Worried? We must be aware,” he concluded, referring to a summer he described as “so hot”.