A tornado and accompanying heavy rainfall that hit El Ejido in Almeria yesterday morning have damaged crops and caused havoc across the region.
The tornado itself - thought to have had a diameter of 50 metres - caused most damage in La Molina during its 15-minute rampage, where about 14 greenhouses were ripped apart. It also wrecked six greenhouses in Puesto Rubio and caused further damage in San Agustin and Las Norias.
“The covering plastic of the greenhouses hit by the tornado - about 50 metres broad strip of destruction was completely destroyed, all in all 30 to 50 hectares,” said Uwe Schwießelmann from Almerian exporter association Coexphal. “Of course, the plants of these greenhouses have been severely damaged, too.”
The storm also saw a high voltage power line destroyed, which led to a black out in the region.
“Inundations occurred due to the precipitation of more than 100 litres per square metre in some spots in just ten to 20 minutes, which caused damage - especially in the crops of greenhouses situated close to normally dry river beds,” Schwießelmann added. “Also, many rural trails towards the mountain range have suffered severe damage.”
Peter Davis of Davis Louth said the scene was “absolutely horrendous". “There was a cloudburst about 1.30pm yesterday afternoon, which went on for two hours. The skies just opened up. They’ve never seen a storm like it,” he said.
While too early to accurately assess the full impact of the damage on his crops, Davis confirmed that some of the company’s vegetables would be lost. “This weekend we’ve lost our exports of courgettes - the torrent of rain just washed them away. Greenhouses have been ripped up and one of our growers with peppers will not be sending them this weekend.”
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