The DG of Emergencies and the Interior, Sebastià Sureda, today chaired the ordinary meeting of the technical support group
This morning the Director General of Emergencies and the Interior, Sebastià Sureda, chaired the ordinary meeting of the technical support group of the INUNBAL, the Special Flood Risk Plan, in the pre-emergency phase as of 15 August. This status will be maintained until 30 November to improve the operational response to possible flooding during the autumn season.
TDB keeps you informed. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
The Government launches the INUNBAL plan in the pre-emergency phase in preparation for the coming flood season
This activation places special attention on the DANAs, frequent phenomena at this time of year, which, when combined with the high temperatures accumulated at sea during the summer, increase the risk of flooding in the Balearic Islands. Although these phenomena can cause serious natural disasters, in 2023 the DGEI only activated INUNBAL risk levels on two occasions: one in the emergency phase with a severity index of 0 (IG-0) and one with a severity index of 1 (IG-1).
The Director General of Emergencies and the Interior stated that the INUNBAL meeting ‘means increasing the level of attention on the actions we have planned throughout the year and which must be followed in the event of a flood situation’.
Sureda, who highlighted the Government’s commitment to working towards prevention of natural risks and, in particular, to anticipating and being able to prevent possible flooding, stressed the importance of the meeting with the aim of ‘increasing the coordination’ of all the members of the technical support group.
In order to anticipate and manage these risks more efficiently, the DGEI has a system for measuring, warning and preventing floods, in line with that established by the INUNBAL, which relies on the forecasts of the AEMET, the state meteorological body, as well as the hydrological warnings of the early warning service for floods in the Balearic Islands of the Observatory of Natural Risks and Emergencies of the Balearic Islands (RiscBal-Alertas).
This system carries out continuous, real-time environmental monitoring (RiscBal-Control) in order to compile data that may be useful in the management of natural risks, providing the DGEI with clear and concise messages on the state of the torrents in situations of manifest danger. The system currently has 87 stations: 50 hydrometric stations strategically located in the most dangerous torrents on the four islands, 33 meteorological stations and 4 hydrometeorological stations.In addition, the RiscBal Viewer includes a tool for detecting the onset of runoff in torrents, which will make it possible to better anticipate risks in vulnerable areas, including critical points of the road network affected by flooding.
The AEMET and RiscBal are fundamental resources for establishing the risk levels of both INUNBAL and METEOBAL, the Special Plan for Adverse Meteorological Phenomena, which has been activated 155 times since the beginning of the year: 18 for high temperatures, 2 for low temperatures, 6 for fog, 53 for coastal phenomena, 24 for strong winds, 27 for rain, 9 for rissaga and 16 for storms.
The technical support group on floods that met today is composed of the AEMET, Environment Agents, Firefighters of Palma, Firefighters of Mallorca, Firefighters of Menorca, Firefighters of Formentera, Firefighters of Ibiza, Territory and Infrastructures of the Consell de Mallorca, Territory and Infrastructures of the Consell de Mallorca, Territory and Mobility of the Consell Insular d’Eivissa, Infrastructures and Mobility of the Consell Insular de Menorca, National Police Corps, Government Delegation, UME, SAMU061, the Directorate General of Water Resources, EMAYA, IBANAT, Guardia Civil, Palma Local Police and ISPIB.