On Tuesday, Ibiza and Formentera experienced the heaviest rainfall in 40 years. The city of Ibiza was plunged into chaos for most of the day due to flooding in streets and basements after a storm left more than 300 l/m2.
The rainfall hit the Pitiusas islands at dawn, with Ibiza bearing the brunt of it. An orange warning had been issued. By 8 a.m., Aemet had recorded 74 litres at Ibiza Airport, 66 litres in Sant Antoni, and 54 litres in Vila. In Sant Joan, the figures were more moderate at 23 litres per square metre, while in Es Ca Marí on Formentera, only 9 litres had fallen. This amount of rain caused various sections of the airport road and the Jesús roundabout to close due to water accumulation. However, the worst was yet to come.
Shortly before 10am, it started raining heavily again over the Pitiusas, which were under a yellow weather warning for storms and heavy rain at that time. The warning would not be upgraded to 'orange' until 10:48, by which time the streets of Ibiza town were flooded and businesses on the ground floor were praying that the water would not enter their premises.
The rain continued to pour down heavily, forcing the Ibiza Council to close the tunnel leading to Es Puig d'en Valls from Camí de Cas Ferró. A driver had to abandon his vehicle here after getting stuck in the deepest part of the tunnel.
Soon afterwards, the E-10 road was cut off and completely flooded with muddy water. This clearly showed just how extraordinary yesterday's rainfall was.
The Ibiza Council quickly announced the cancellation of bus services to and from the Ibizan capital, as well as the closure of access to the city from Santa Eulàlia, Sant Antoni, and the entire second ring road (E-20).
Red alert
At midday, the Aemet activated a red alert in the Pitiusas, the highest level of alert. In the city of Ibiza, more than 200 l/m2 had already fallen in the last 12 hours. Nine minutes later, at 12:09 p.m., the alarms on the mobile phones of the Pitiusos sounded with an emergency warning from the regional government due to a red alert for torrential rain.
Meanwhile, the Regional Ministry of Education suspended afternoon classes in the Pitiusas Islands. By that time, many parents had already collected their children from primary and secondary schools, despite the government's instruction to wait until 4 p.m. for the red alert to end and avoid unnecessary road travel.
In Mallorca, President Prohens left Parliament to attend the Technical Advisory Committee on Emergencies meeting, alongside the President of the Ibiza Council, Vicent Marí. The meeting decided to activate the Military Emergency Unit (UME), which is permanently stationed on Ibiza, as well as sending reinforcements from Mallorca and Valencia.
In the early afternoon, the storm let up. It was a mirage. Once again, the rain returned. And, without mercy, it flooded the streets of Ibiza, which had emptied just minutes before.
Prohens, in Ibiza
The president of the regional government travelled to Ibiza to follow the work of the emergency services first-hand. With the alerts now deactivated, Marga Prohens assured that ‘nothing had failed’ and that the citizens had responded well to the activation of the ES-Alert for the first time in the Balearic Islands.
The Balearic Government reported that there were a total of 179 incidents related to the accumulated rainfall in Ibiza. The most affected municipalities were Vila (101), Sant Josep de sa Talaia (30) and Santa Eulària (43). In Formentera, six incidents were dealt with.
Most reports have related to flooding of basements and public roads, falling debris from urban structures, fallen trees, water accumulation on roads and the risk of torrents overflowing. Of all the recorded incidents, three people sustained minor injuries in a landslide near a hotel in Es Puig des Molins.
One of the most notable incidents occurred at the Can Raspalls residence in Sant Jordi, which is home to people with disabilities and mental health conditions. Water accumulated in the basement, where maintenance work is carried out, but this did not affect the residents.
Ibanat requested assistance with flooding and the removal of fallen trees on the island of Ibiza.
Regarding the water cycle infrastructure in Ibiza, several incidents were reported: the desalination plant in the city was shut down due to the transformer that powers the wells flooding, and the central pump that sends water to the treatment plant operated using a generator after losing power due to the Sa Llavanera stream flooding. The other main treatment plants — Santa Eulàlia, Sant Antoni and Can Bossa — experienced overflows.
Regarding Can Misses Hospital, heavy rainfall has forced the suspension of consultations in the Ibiza and Formentera Health Area. Water leaks caused by the recent rainfall have affected the laboratory area of Can Misses Hospital and the Can Misses and Es Viver health centres.
Data
According to AEMET, the highest rainfall was recorded in Vila, at 253 l/m². A meteoclimatic station recorded 303 litres per square metre in Ca n'Escandell. In Sa Coma (RiscBal), it reached 229.8 litres per square metre. Ibiza Airport recorded 174 litres, while Formentera reached 108 litres per square metre. Sant Antoni and Sant Joan recorded almost 70 litres per square metre.
According to IB3 meteorologist Miquel Salamanca, Ibiza has exceeded 200 litres per square metre only twice since records began: in September 1977, when floods claimed three lives, and in November 1985, 40 years ago.