The sudden hailstorm on Saturday barely lasted an hour but was intense enough to destroy more than 80% of the region’s nectarines, apricots, peaches and table grapes, which were at the point of being harvested, and threatens the livelihoods of fruit farmers and thousands of casual workers.
When the skies turned black at 1pm on Saturday the unpredicted storm of hailstones sent midday shoppers running for safety as they were pelted by stones as big as grapes. Shops, basements and garages in Calasparra were flooded as strong winds drove the hailstones into doorways and this morning, Monday, some classrooms at local schools were still under water. It was a terrifying experience for many residents caught out in the open and for motorists who were deafened by the noise of hail beating down on their vehicles as they were blown and buffeted by the wind.
Weather predictions for Saturday were of a 20% chance of rain: no-one saw the hailstorm coming. Even if the weather centre had got it right it there are no precautions the farmers could have taken to protect their precious fruit: it took just 40 minutes for the torrent of hail to write it off this year’s harvest.
This, the worst hailstorm in recent memory, dropped 14.8 litres of water per square metre, approximately 80 litres an hour, on Cieza; 12 litres per square metre on Caravaca and 11 on Yecla.
The fruit farmers in Calasparra, Abarán, Blanca, Mula, and Pliego are among the worst affected and they face losses of between 80 and 100%. The regional Department of Agriculture estimates some 2,500 hectares of fruit farms in the region have been destroyed.
The destruction of the region’s fruit harvest also piles on the misery for the thousands of casual workers who depend on this seasonal work for their livelihoods.
