When 55 litres of water fell in less than two hours above Calahonda, the rubbish and vegetation in the Rambla Vizcarra and Rejón momentarily held the water back, resulting in a more devastating result on the town below.

Unfortunately, many of the greenhouses and home owners affected did not have any insurance coverage, but now there is a glimmer of hope for them. The Motril Town Hall and the Calahonda ELA (semi-independent township) warned the Junta de Andalucia on at least five occasions that the ramblas needed cleaning out before the rains came. The Junta, whose responsibility this task falls under, did nothing.

Now, the property owners who were not able to claim on insurance policies are claiming against the Junta de Andalucia in the form of compensation. They base their claim on negligence on the part of the Department of the Environment within the Junta de Andalucia. If the Junta does not accept this claim, then it will go to court.

According to agricultural organisations, the floods buried between 50 and 60 hectares of greenhouse crops, comprising of a calculated 3m kilos of cucumbers, valued at 1,200,000 euros (which coincides, by chance, with 200m pesetas) – this is the quantity of compensation that is being demanded from the Junta in compensation.

Finally, included within their claim is a report by experts that states that 55 litres of rain is not an extraordinary amount of rainfall within that time frame, which underlines the fact that it was the state of the ramblas, rather than the amount of rainfall, that caused the floods and destruction.

(News: Calahonda, Costa Tropical, Granada, Andalucia)