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.