Spanish holiday hotspot Majorca on lockdown ahead of more storms after 200 killed

Majorca has initiated lockdown procedures in various areas, impacting both residents and British tourists currently enjoying their holidays, due to an incoming storm that has caused devastation across Spain, claiming over 200 lives. Parks, gardens, and even cemeteries have been closed off to prepare for the severe weather that is expected to deliver several inches of rain in mere hours.

In light of the dangerous conditions, homeless individuals in Palma, Majorca, are being evacuated, particularly from areas where many Brits are vacationing. Aemet, Spain's national meteorological service, has issued warnings for up to 120mm of rainfall within about three hours, potentially causing severe disruption, reports the Mirror.

Javier Bonet, the first deputy mayor of Palma, conveyed through the Majorca Daily Bulletin on Thursday: "We are going to take the measure of closing the cemeteries from 14.00 hours this Friday until next Monday. We ask that this celebration be held next week and we will set up a special timetable from 8 am to 9 pm from Monday to Sunday so that it can be held safely".

Local authorities are also taking steps to evacuate homeless people from settlements at risk of flooding, with plans for providing them temporary shelter while the storm warning persists. In Palma’s flood-susceptible regions (Son Rossinyol, Sa Riera and Torrent des Rafal), police and social services are urging people to leave their homes and find safety elsewhere.

Aemet issued a statement forecasting expected rainfall across various regions in Spain, mentioning "Precipitation is expected in the south-eastern peninsular, south-east of Castilla and León, Aragón, Cataluña, Levante and Baleares, without falling into large areas of the Alps. May be dangerous Chubascos and torments locally fierce and/or persistent in the far west from Andalucía and in the lower Ebro and Baleares without discarding areas of the southern part of the system Central Western."

It added, "On Saturday the instability will continue in the Eastern Mediterranean area and in the southern part of Andalucía, with chubascos and torments that could still be locally fierce y/o persistent in Tarragona, Castellón, Valencia and Baleares, without discarding them in Cádiz and the West from Málaga."

This follows the devastating news that nearly 2,000 individuals are still reported missing after catastrophic floods hit Spain, resulting in a death toll surpassing 200. Emergency lines have been overwhelmed by calls from concerned relatives and friends searching for those impacted by the floods.

Hope remains that the number missing will decrease as people are located and reconnect with their families, but fears persist that some may have succumbed to the floodwaters.