Outrage in Ibiza: “Four drops fall and we are flooded”.

The patience of many residents of Ibiza has once again overflowed along with the water. A brief downpour, just a moment of rain early in the morning, was enough for the city center and areas such as Playa d’en Bossa or Can Misses to be flooded again. In some streets, neighbors claim that an oily liquid came out of the sewers, which turned the sidewalks into slippery and impracticable surfaces. And the stench was at times unbearable.

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“We’re a little sick of it. This month has been very dirty “lamented a merchant in statements to IB3. Another summarized the general feeling with a dry phrase: “Fifteen minutes of rain and a disaster“. From the association of neighbors and traders of Es Pratet, its president, Carmen Cárcel, was categorical: ” The neighborhood smells horrible right now. A lot of cleaning needs to be done in the sewers, they are all clogged. “.

Tired neighbors and burning networks

Frustration multiplied on social networks. From a school bus, a user posted videos of Playa d’en Bossa under water: “Good morning from the school bus in a flooded Playa d’en Bossa after less than an hour of storm,” she wrote in English. In another video, the same user posted at 7:30 a.m.: “Can Misses and Playa d’en Bossa after an hour of storm. This happens every time it rains!”.

The comments coincided in the diagnosis: lack of maintenance and wrong priorities. “So many expenses for works and we don’t have any drainage system”, denounced a neighbor. Another added sarcastically: “But there are new radars, more than ten”. Other messages pointed directly at the construction companies or the design of the recent works: “Who did this renovation? They forgot to put in drainage,” a foreign resident reproached.

In all cases, the tone is the same: indignation, weariness and the feeling of repeating a familiar scene.

After the floods of September and October

Citizen anger does not come out of nowhere. Ibiza reaches this new episode with two recent storms still in memory. On September 30, the former storm ‘Gabrielle’ left more than 250 liters per square meter in 24 hours, causing historic floods, flooded homes and the intervention of the UME. Just two weeks later, the DANA ‘Alice’ hit again with force: 174 liters in a single day, new pools of water in Playa d’en Bossa and streets turned into rivers.

Since then, the fear of every cloud has grown. “Every time it rains four drops we are flooded,” wrote a neighbor this morning. And, although today’s storm was short, it was enough to show that the system is still at its limit, unable to absorb even an hour of rain.

A postcard was also repeated among shopkeepers in the center of Vila: they set up barriers to prevent water from entering their premises.

On alert for new rains

The Aemet maintains vigilance: on Saturday new heavy rains are expected, although of shorter duration, which has led the City Council of Ibiza to maintain active its special preventive cleaning plan.

The Consistory already executed on Thursday works in the sewage network and reinforcements in vulnerable areas, especially in Es Pratet and ses Feixes, to improve the evacuation of water and reduce risks before the next storm.

A recurring demand

The demand is unanimous: more cleaning, more maintenance and structural solutions. The neighbors ask for a thorough review of the sewage network and a real investment in urban drainage, especially in critical points such as Es Pratet, Can Misses and Playa d’en Bossa.

Meanwhile, in the streets there are still puddles, the smell of stagnant water and the increasingly widespread feeling that Ibiza cannot afford another flood.