Dana Alice in Ibiza: Education allows families to pick up their children early

PalmThe Ministry of Education has advised families that they can pick up their children from school between 12:00 and 1:00 p.m. this Monday, due to the expected bad weather in Ibiza and Formentera. The orange warning for rain and storms issued by the Aemet (Spanish Association of Schools of Education), activated from 2:00 p.m., prompted this decision by the Technical Advisory Committee and the Ministry of Education, which seeks to ensure the safety of students. The Ministry of Education has already communicated this measure to schools and families through the Gesto-IB (IB-Gesture), with the aim of facilitating a staggered return before the arrival of extreme weather. Despite this advance, Educació reminds students that schools are safe spaces. In the event of heavy rain or difficulties in getting around, it is recommended to remain cautious and wait for conditions to improve before picking up children. In cases where families are unable to attend in time for work-life balance reasons, it has been guaranteed that the children will remain in the care of the teaching staff and will be cared for normally until their guardians arrive.

Starting at 2:00 p.m. this Monday, the orange warning for the risk of rain will be reactivated in the Pitiusas. The alert could remain in effect until Tuesday, when it will again be extended to all of Mallorca and Menorca. The Government has announced that school activities will resume normally on Monday morning in Ibiza and Formentera, although the situation will be reviewed in the afternoon and evening in light of the orange warning for heavy rain.

The 112 service recorded 170 incidents related to the passage of Alice through the Balearic Islands between 6 a.m. on October 9 and 10 a.m. this Sunday. 103 were in Ibiza; 40 in Mallorca; 25 in Formentera; and two in Menorca. The majority of the incidents involved flooding in buildings (62) and public roads (25), as well as 25 liquid obstacles on the road, 25 fallen trees, seven road closures, and another seven incidents due to fallen trees.

In Ibiza, there has been heavy rain with heavy rain since early morning. The UME arrived on the island around 5:00 a.m. and unloaded a contingent consisting of three heavy and two light sections. The heavy sections worked on the Ibiza Airport road (EI-800), and the light sections worked in the Pratet parking lot in Ibiza and other areas. Public transport on the island was reopened around 12:30 p.m.

During the emergency situation, in addition to the EMU, the Ibiza and Formentera Fire Departments, the Formentera Fire Department, the Ibanat (Spanish National Emergency Service), the Civil Guard (particularly the GREIM (Special Mountain Intervention Rescue Group), the National Police Force, the management and information collaboration agencies of the Aemet (Association of Roads of the Majorca Council), the Water Resources Department, Ibassal (Spanish National Emergency Service), the Ports of the Balearic Islands (Spanish National Emergency Service), the ISPIB (Spanish National Emergency Service), the Red Eléctrica (Electric Network), the Government Delegation, and other agencies involved in emergency management have also been involved in the emergency management.

For its part, Palma City Council closed Paseo Sagrera and Bellver Park in Palma after the Aemet (Mexico City Council) issued an orange alert. These two spaces join the Can Tarrers and Ribera parks, which were already closed.

Aena has warned that adverse weather conditions have affected the airports of Palma and Ibiza, as occurred on Saturday.

Hydrological saturation

The University of the Balearic Islands has reported that the island of Ibiza has reached a state of hydrological saturation. In the Santa Eulària River, the torrent has reached the yellow level. Given that rainfall has decreased throughout the morning, it has not moved to a higher alert level.

In Mallorca, there has been a significant flood in the Sant Miquel torrent, between Pollença and Campanet.

Saturday

On Saturday, Hurricane Alice severely affected Ibiza and Formentera, as well as parts of Mallorca. This led the Government's General Directorate of Emergencies to send mass ES-Alert messages, activate the Inunbal Plan on all the islands, and also activate the deployment of the Military Emergency Unit (UME) in Ibiza following requests from the Balearic Islands.

The Ibiza Regional Council closed the road at the airport and suspended transport services throughout the island. Furthermore, Ibiza Airport was forced to halt operations this Saturday between 6:00 p.m. and 7:20 p.m. due to heavy rain. A total of 24 flights were suspended, according to Aena.

In Portocristo, a dozen ground-floor apartments and several commercial premises on Son Servera Street were again flooded as a result of the storm, with accumulated flooding reaching 107 liters, according to local stations. The lack of conventional sewage systems and the ineffectiveness of drains have left the streets unreachable, reports Sebastià Vanrell.