The Isolated Depression at High Levels (DANA) is giving its final blows this Friday, August 16, and the entire island of Mallorca remains under a yellow alert for rain and storms until 6pm. The territorial delegation of the State Meteorological Agency (Aemet) in the Balearic Islands has specified that up to 35 litres of water per square metre could fall in just one hour in the Serra de Tramuntana, as well as in the north and northeast regions; and up to 25 litres in other areas.
The Aemet’s territorial delegation in the Balearic Archipelago has indicated that showers will be more likely during the morning of this Friday, with the potential to be locally heavy, and could even be accompanied by storms. Additionally, they noted that “the probability and intensity of the showers will gradually decrease throughout the day.”
For its part, Emergencies 112 has kept level 2 of the Meteobal Plan active in Mallorca and Minorca, while the level of the Inunbal Plan has been lowered to 1 on all the islands, except in Minorca. A technical meeting is currently underway to decide whether to lower these levels.
More than 400 incidents in the Balearic Islands
The DANA caused over 400 incidents across the islands, 225 of them in Mallorca. However, Minorca was one of the most affected islands this past Thursday. Specifically, the torrent overflowed as it passed through Es Mercadal. According to the latest data from Aemet, 204 liters of water per square meter were recorded. The flooding is so severe that the Es Mercadal City Council has opened the municipal sports center to accommodate people who cannot return to their homes. Additionally, some people had to be rescued.
Palma Airport Returns to Normal
Operations at Palma Airport were also severely impacted, necessitating the convening of a crisis management team due to the “severe storms,” which forced air traffic regulation and led to numerous cancellations and widespread delays. However, sources from Aena have assured that Palma Airport is gradually returning to normal, although there are still “delays and some isolated cancellations, which are normal given the high season and the events of the past two days.”
Train tracks from Sineu to Manacor.
Train Service Disrupted in Some Sections of Mallorca
For its part, the train service in Mallorca also had to be temporarily suspended in some sections. “Due to the rain,” the infrastructure between Sineu and Manacor was affected, forcing the temporary suspension of train service along this route.
Additionally, a train was stopped “as a precaution” on a section between Petra and Manacor due to track issues caused by the rain, and 29 passengers had to be evacuated. The train service between Petra and Manacor was also suspended and replaced with bus transportation.
