Stormy weather

A storm accompanied by hurricane winds battered the island of Mallorca yesterday afternoon.  Worst hit place was the capital Palma.

 The heavy shower began a few minutes after five in the afternoon and and lasted half an hour.  It plunged the city of Palma  into darkness and forced the closure of the airport for 20 minutes with winds up to 109 kilometers per hour.  Eight thousand five hundred homes  on the island had had to spend the night without electricity because of the damages in  the network caused by the storm.  

Rain and the wind swept the island from south to north bringing down roofs, causing damage to many houses and  demolishing  trees. There were many traffic accidents, one of them  involving fifty vehicles. Hospitals were  flooded resulting in the evacuation of patients.  

The situation is not expected to improve today.  The City council in Palma advises people  to stay at home unless necessary and to avoid to using their vehicles. 

The Balearic advisor of Interior, Maria Angeles Leci6nena, presided over a meeting of the Commission of Emergency last night to coordinate  the work of the administration and maintenance companies because parts of the island were still without electricity and phones.