The same horror movie, with homes, businesses, farms, streets, highways and public facilities flooded, with extensive damage, cars swept away by the water and situations of anguish and panic among the neighbors. The south of Catalonia, so often forgotten and underestimated, once again bore the brunt of the torrential rains that fell in a few hours in Montsià and Baix Ebre, with floods in Alcanar, Ulldecona, Mas de Barberans and Santa Bàrbara.
The best thing is that despite falling in Alcanar more than 100 l/m2 in just three hours (60 liters in half an hour and 220 at night and morning), there is no personal injury to be regretted, although some neighbors did have to be evacuated . Civil Protection ordered the preventive confinement of the 9,600 residents of Alcanar first thing in the morning until after noon, with a sending of mobile alerts. The worst thing is that they have not served to solve an endemic problem in the tourist and agricultural municipality since the catastrophic floods of 2018 and 2021. The damage has been minor, pending the expert reports that begin today.
“The situation in our municipality is different from that of other towns, it is an anomaly, with ravines that pass through the municipality. We must act urgently. Urban planning was understood differently decades ago, but reality has changed, with torrential rains in September becoming more frequent. We need the help of the Generalitat and other administrations, Alcanar is again flooded. Alone we cannot”, lamented yesterday Joan Roig (ERC), mayor of Alcanar.
Alcanar has part of the urban center next to the sea, in Les Cases d'Alcanar and in Alcanar Platja, with buildings built decades ago in areas systematically flooded by water that falls and overflows through the ravines, especially that of Sant Jaume. Every time there are episodes of torrential water, the ravines collect the rains that fall on the mountain, in the Serra del Montsià, and end up flowing like a violent flood into the sea, flooding ground floors, farms, houses and businesses, such as the El Racó restaurant. of the Port. In the last downpour it was closed for six months to be able to rebuild. This time, fortunately, the damage has been less serious. "You have to act preventively, not only after the floods to alleviate damage that will be reproduced again," said Mayor Roig. The aid promised from other administrations such as the Generalitat in 2021 has not yet arrived, the mayor recalled.
