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A fierce and short-lived storm swept across the Region of Murcia yesterday, Thursday May 8, bringing intense rainfall and hail that caused traffic disruption and prompted emergency alerts. The downpour was especially severe in the northern area of Mula, where a heavy hailstorm around 4pm forced the closure of one lane in each direction on the northwest motorway.

 

In some areas of the motorway, hail accumulated to a depth of 10 centimetres, prompting intervention by snowploughs operating under the Region’s Winter Roads Plan. Their swift action meant the affected stretch was cleared and reopened to traffic by 7pm.

 

The same hailstorm affected other northern towns including Archena, Caravaca, Moratalla and Calasparra, although the intensity there was lower than in Mula.

 

As the storm moved east and southwards, the city of Lorca recorded the heaviest rainfall, with 46.6 litres per square metre, according to data from the Confederación Hidrográfica del Segura (CHS).

 

Other municipalities, including Albudeite, Alhama de Murcia, Alguazas, Molina de Segura and Campos del Río, also saw rainfall exceeding 30 litres per square metre.

 

In response, the State Meteorological Agency (Aemet) issued an orange alert for storms in Murcia city, Lorca, Águilas, the Vega del Segura and the Guadalentín Valley. The regional government activated the pre-emergency phase of its Civil Protection plan due to the risk of flooding. As the storm weakened in the evening, Aemet downgraded the alert to yellow, maintaining it until 10pm.

 

By 8pm, the emergency services had received 47 storm-related calls, with the majority concerning water drainage issues and road obstructions. Other incidents included five traffic accidents, four minor landslides and three reports of power outages. Fortunately, there were no injuries or significant damage reported.

 

Campos del Río was the worst affected in terms of reported incidents, with 21 calls to the 112 emergency number. Mula followed with four, while Murcia, Molina de Segura, Librilla and Ceutí each registered three.

 

By late afternoon, the weather had calmed throughout the region, and no further incidents of hail or damaging rain were recorded.

 

For this weekend, however, Aemet has once again activated a yellow-level weather alert for the northwestern part of the Region, warning of more storms and accumulated rainfall of up to 15mm per hour between 12pm and midnight.

 

 

 

Image 1: CARM

Image 2: Aemet