The Spanish islands of Ibiza and Formentera have been devastated by heavy flooding as the remnants of a hurricane swamped low-lying regions with torrential rains.
Four people had to be rescued from an Ibiza hotel by firefighters following a rockfall on Tuesda evening, emergency services said. Some 220 tourists had to be evacuated, and three people sustained injuries.
Rocks on a cliff at the end of Ramon Muntaner Street partially collapsed onto two floors of the HT Vibra Tropical Garden hotel as a result of the flooding, according to the City Council.
The Balearic Islands government deployed the military to reinforce the ranks of rescue teams as the aftermath of Hurricane Gabrielle buffeted the archipelago.
The Military Emergency Unit (UME) worked through the night into Wednesday to clean up Ibiza’s airport from flooding, after the airport recorded more than 100 litres of water per square metre before noon on Tuesday, according to state meteorological agency, AEMET.
Around one thousand people have already missed flights due to the poor condition of the roads, and two people have been injured after falling in the street, El Pais reports.
Fairgrounds were opened to accommodate around 50 homeless people at risk from the flooding.
Ibiza Town, the island’s capital, saw 254mm (10 inches) of rainfall within a 24 hour period by 8.30pm local time on Tuesday. AEMET said on X that the “extraordinary” downpours made for the wettest day since at least 1952 in Ibiza.
Formentera saw more than 180mm within 12 hours, the agency added.
The government covering the Balearic islands reported 179 incidents on Ibiza and six on Formentera, mostly linked to flooding on ground floors and roads, as well as falling trees and risk of river overflow.
All education centres were to remain closed in Ibiza town on Wednesday, the regional authorities announced, saying it expected to return to normality on Thursday.
AEMET lifted all weather warnings for the islands of Ibiza and Formentera by Tuesday evening after issuing a red alert.
Flooding in the Balearics follows bad weather in Valencia, on the east coast of the mainland.
A red alert was put in place this week as Storm Gabrielle swept through, bringing heavy rainfall and flooding to parts of Valencia and Zaragoza.
AEMET said that between 160 and 200mm of rain had fallen within six to eight hours around the Ebro delta.
