It is a week of earthquake news in Torrevieja, firstly with the anniversary of the 1829 earthquake that killed hundreds of people and destroyed thousands of properties, an anniversary which coincided with a simulation and rescue operation in the town, then, on Thursday, a minor tremor being felt in the area, and now, the story is about to be complete as Torrevieja might soon have an earthquake plan, which has only taken 11 years to get around to, after it became a mandatory requirement in 2011.
In 2011, the emergency plan for seismic risk in the Valencian Community was approved by the Francisco Camps government, which indicated that Torrevieja, Los Montesinos, Rojales and Benijófar are of the highest seismic risk both due to the intensity of the probability of an earthquake and its possible consequences on buildings, infrastructure and personal damage.
That document indicated as a priority that Torrevieja, together with most of the towns of Vega Baja, should have their own municipal action plan against seismic risk.
This plan also underlines that in a hundred-year return period in Torrevieja there can be an earthquake with an intensity of 6.5 degrees and one of 8.5 for 500 years.
11 years have passed, three large earthquake drills in Torrevieja and hundreds of micro-earthquakes, but the municipality lacked a basic protocol for action in the event of a major earthquake.
The 18-thousand-euro contract was awarded in September last year to the company Semerpro Emerg with a preparation period of only three months.
The document was delivered in February for validation by the Ministry of the Interior of the Generalitat. The autonomous administration returned it with the warning that it could not give it the go-ahead without first having undergone a period of public exposure and consultation.
To be continued…
