Costa Blanca
Strong wind gusts force Alicante to close Santa Bárbara Castle and its parks

All municipal emergency systems have been triggered by the Spanish Meteorological Agency’s (Aemet) yellow signal for Alicante on Wednesday. According to municipal sources the Santa Bárbara Castle and the municipal parks of Lo Morant, Palmeral, and Canalejas have been closed due to high wind gusts of up to 52 km per hour that have been reported since early this morning.
In addition, the City Council has implemented additional measures in wind-prone locations with large trees, such the Plaza de Gabriel Miró and the Portal de Elche.
In the case of the castle, the closure is being carried out because Parks and Gardens’ internal procedures have been activated, “given that the current weather situation does not make it necessary to implement the City Council’s Emergency Plan,” according to municipal sources. The same sources do caution, though, that “the City Council keeps the entire municipal prevention device on alert.”
The yellow level rain warning does not activate any civil protection plans, but it does contain wind gusts of up to 50 miles per hour and a maximum of 20 litres per square metre in the municipality of Alicante. At 2:00 pm, the high wind forecast comes to an end. Despite not meeting the emergency protocols’ risk threshold, “the City Council has chosen to close public spaces to reinforce security.”
In order to keep an eye on the yellow level risk warning for rain in the municipality issued by the Emergency Coordination Centre of the Valencian Community (CCECV) between 9:00am and 00:00 today, Wednesday 5th, the Municipal Operational Coordination Centre (Cecopal) of Alicante City Council convened on Tuesday under the direction of Mayor Luis Barcala.
The City Council has temporarily banned swimming on the municipal beaches and established the Social Emergency and Shelter Centre (CAUS) in case it becomes essential to help the homeless. Simultaneously, the Department of Security consolidates all relevant data on meteorological developments in case further action is required if the situation deteriorates.
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Costa Blanca
In Benidorm hotels, British tourists surpass national tourists

The rise in hotel occupancy in Benidorm during the second half of February, which accounted for 42% of arrivals and was three points higher than in the first part of the month, was once again mostly due to British tourists. The Costa Blanca’s tourist capital, Hosbec, finished this time with hotels at 76.8%, higher than the monthly average of 75.5%, according to data.
With these numbers, the Brits have surpassed the national tourists, whose share of visitors decreased from 43.8% to 40.2% in the second half of the month. Similarly, the Dutch accounted for 5.2% of all visits, with Belgians coming in second at 5% and Irish at 2.2%.
With 76% of reservations confirmed for the first half of the month, one point more than during the same period in 2024, the March predictions support the upward trend. Hoteliers are able to keep positive expectations for the season because of this steadiness.
Due to the celebration of CEVISAMA and the rise in economic activity in the ceramics industry, Castellón had the highest average hotel occupancy rate in the Valencian Community, at about 85%. The employers’ group claims that “tourism and professional events combined to favour these positive results.”
While reservations for the first half of March were comparable to last year, Valencia saw a decline in occupancy, particularly in 4-star hotels. With 74.2% occupancy in the second half of February and a monthly balance of 72.8%, the Costa Blanca—aside from Benidorm—also had a minor decline, falling 3.3 points short of 2024.
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Costa Blanca
Elche wins 4.2 million euros on the lottery

The residents of Elche are now over 4.2 million euros richer after yesterday’s, Saturday March 8th, National Lottery draw. The Lottery Administration number 2 in the city of Elche, which is situated in the Plaça de Baix, has received the whole first prize of the draw, which was ticket number 73,267. They had ten series consigned, or one hundred tenths. Everything points to the sale of about 70 tenths, which are valued at 60,000 euros each, pending the final numbers.
As it happens, the Sacred Heart of Jesus parish sold the majority of the tickets—roughly 60.
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Costa Blanca
Two youths hurt in a car-moped crash in San Miguel de Salinas

A car and a moped collision in San Miguel de Salinas has resulted in the injuries of two youngsters. Due to their injuries, the 15- and 16-year-olds had to be sent to the Hospital of Elche and Torrevieja.
The car and a moped were engaged in an accident on the CV-95 highway in the municipality of San Miguel de Salinas around 9:38 p.m. yesterday, Friday, March 7th, according to sources from the Emergency Information and Coordination Centre (Cicu).
A 15-year-old child with many injuries was treated by two SAMU units who were sent to the scene and transferred to Torrevieja Hospital. A 16-year-old boy who had injuries to his face and leg was taken to Elche General Hospital.
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