Flooding- update please

https://aguilastoday.com/murcia-gota-fr%C3%ADa-storm-and-flooding-september-2019-overview_1106149-a.html?Banner=171&bespoke=true&fid=283&signup=off

Although this article concentrates on the Murcia region it fully explains what happened. Usually during Gota Frías, the Vega Baja gets very soggy as the soil is not free draining and is mostly just metres above the water table but it doesn't normally flood properties in the country areas. Until the floodgates were opened, even despite the biblical amount of rainfall, the flood defenses and drainage channels were coping, more or less, in the areas around Catral, Dolores, Almoradi etc. What they couldn't cope with was the sudden onslaught of water gushing from the Santomera dam when it was opened. As the article states, the reservoir was only 7% full before the storm and it must be appreciated that the vast majority of rainwater was channeled towards the reservoir and away from people and property, working exactly as it should have done. When the floodgates were opened the Vega Baja was already sodden so the water raced through the region finding its way to the lakes and the sea washing everything before it.
As Ray says, he was in the thick of it but wasn't affected, others have lost everything having lived there for many years without any problems. You can't odds nature. We are in an earthquake zone and there is always the possibility of a tsunami and it could be argued there is as much chance of that happening as a repeat of September's Gota Fría. https://torrevieja.com/en/the-1829-earthquake/ and http://thisistorrevieja.com/2016/10/02/torrevieja-and-orihuela-costa-at-risk-of-tsunamis/

If I was house hunting now, if the property I was interested in was unaffected by the September floods I would not hesitate to buy it.

Many thanks Cheryl .... this is extremely reassuring. Karen

Thanks Ray ... that’s good to know.  Karen

I have to disagree with some of the previous posts. In my area, and I'm sure in Dolores, Catral and others, the flooding was nothing to do with the Segura or reservoirs or irrigation canals. It was simply the amount of water that came down, on already saturated ground. Water will always find the lowest point, and in my area there aren't dried up river channels to remove it, and the irrigation channels are for irrigation and not flood water removal.

Many people were unfortunate in that they were at lower points where the water collected, and suffered the consequences.

Google Earth can give some idea of the low points in an area when you're doing a property search, but it isn't as good as a proper topographical map. The easiest thing to do is ask people who live in the area you look at if they suffered from the flooding.

As regard to it being a one-off event, it was certainly the worst in over 150 years, but that doesn't mean it won't happen again for another 150 years. With global warming, more water evaporates, and what goes up has to come down. I hope it doesn't, as I've already spend a lot of time on post-flood clear up, and haven't finished yet, but it could happen again next year.

Thanks Jim.  That’s why we have flooded; being the lowest point in the village and a river which couldn’t take any more rainwater due to blockages down river.  Good advice re looking at a topography map and asking around.  Thank you again.  Karen

We were in Almeria (Albox) on the first day of heavy rain, travelling back to the UK the next day so just missed the worst of it.  From what you all say, it sounds like it was the opening of the floodgates that caused the major flooding.  Have the authorities said this would be the plan of action in future?  Thanks, Karen

I live in Dolores near the village centre.  Fortunately we were in England when the flooding occurred but our friends close by kept us informed.  There are photographs on the Dolores ayuntamiento facebook page showing the height that the water reached in the centre by the church which was about 18 inches.  We know people who live in the surrounding countryside between dolores and Catral who were flooded in their home to a depth of a metre and had to be rescued by boat!  Luckily the water didn't come into our little village house; the floor level is about 12 inches higher than the pavement around but the central patio de luz is probably about level with the pavement of the street.  We couldn't see any evidence that the water had come up through the central drain of the patio.  Apparently at our house the water level in the street peaked at the top of the kerb.  Houses just 4 doors away from us clearly sustained flooding as they have had workmen in replacing the floors and the wooden doors that they have thrown out were wet for a few inches at the bottom and falling apart.

In July 2019, ironically, we had been to see an exhibition of photographs of Dolores that included the last flooding that occurred in 1987 (quite a lot more recently than 100 years).  I have some photos of the photos from that exhibition that show the flooding in what seems to be the same areas as the recent floods.  There has been quite a lot of new building in the intervening years.

Depends whereabouts in Dolores you live ie Town or Campo.  Some people lost everything, some nothing. My villa unaffected but garden flooded to 1.5 metres lost all in summer kitchen, washing machine, dryer, jaquizzi etc. Some people slowly being paid out from Consortico but some still nothing.

The Rio segura that burst its banks is undergoing major reconstruction costing millions of euros the chance of it ever happening again are very slim, have you looked at buying an apartment, best move we ever made, we had the flood waters passing us by with no destruction to our property or contents which in turn left us free to help others.