A British couple in their seventies were swept away in their taxi whilst on holiday in Majorca; Tuesday 9 October around 8pm. Whilst Majorca is known for its city of sunshine, disaster struck as eight inches of rain fell that evening with it resulting in the river banks bursting and streets turning into rivers.
Locals swam for their lives as the rain hit hard whilst others were found trapped hanging on to trees and balconies, unable to escape the 13ft wall of water that that was in between Sant Llorenc and Des Cardassar. The British couple were found deceased whilst in the taxi, only hours after they had arrived on their holiday. The couple arrived at safe at Palma airport but when driving to their hotel, the storm stuck.
Manuel Torrescusa, survivor of the storm explains how he escaped and swam out of his car. He said “ I swam 500 meters through the torrent until I got to a house.’ A second victim described their experience. “The water reached 13ft at one point and was pilling cars on top of each other. I had to swim to survive”.
Over 100 emergency services were called to the scene to rescue locals and tourists in trouble; along with sniffer dogs and the Spanish military. After the tragic event, Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sanchez visited the scene and sent his wishes to those affected and their families. It has been said that this has been the worst flood in Majorca in almost three decades. Power cuts on the island caused schools to close and around 100 people having to spend the night in a sports centre to keep safe whilst their homes had been destroyed. Throughout the disaster, victims were found around all over the island. Two people were found in the town, S’lllot and at least another person was found in another town, Arta. It has been reported that ten are dead from this natural disaster and at least six people are still missing.
Later, the British couple, Kenneth 72 and Mary Hall 70, were found deceased in their taxi and at least 15 people were missing in one night of the storm however it had been exclaimed shortly after 6am that it was down to 5.
Public administrator, Catalina Cladera describes the event as ‘dantesque’ and completely unexpected. Whilst families were trying to make it through the storm, Spanish tennis star, Rafael Nadal, offered to open his sports centre for tourists and victims affected by the floods.