It has long been a bone of contention that the Junta does not have a tsunami or tidal wave contingency plan – things have changed and they’re working on it.

The Councillor for the Presidency, Elías Bendodo, pointed out that there isn’t even a national level plan of this kind.

The said contingency plan covers the Atlantic coast of Andalucía; i.e., from the Portuguese border to Cabo de Trafalgar. This is because should there be an underwater earthquake out in the Atlantic, it could affect that area of the Andalusia coastline. After all, a tidal wave destroyed parts of Lisbon during the 18th Century.

In order to draw up the contingency plan, the Junta has requested studies from the Agencia Espacial Europea (ESA) and from the European Union via the European Environmental Agency.

Can we get a Tsunami in the Mediterranean? Yep, sure can! on the 28th of December, 1908, an earthquake and the ensuing tsunami, hit the city of Messina in Italy, which  was almost completely destroyed. More than 75 000 people were killed. But you don’t have to go that far back because the last one was in May 2003 when a quake near the coast of Algeria generated a tsunami that destroyed over 100 boats on Mallorca and flooded Las Palmas Paseo Marítimo.

(News: Andalucia)