Robert Firth
A BRITISH couple have lambasted Mallorcan authorities for putting them at risk of flooding, despite their repeated pleas for better flood defences.
Expat Brian Gatcombe and his partner Lynn Willis say they now ‘wish’ they hadn’t bought their house in the village of Costitx, after they were put at risk of flooding for the second time in three years.
The couple, who moved to the Balearic Isle from the UK three years ago, say that storm drains near their house are blocked with branches, foliage and a wooden door and that authorities are denying responsibility for clearing it.
When Gatcombe complained to Mallorcan water officials, they told him it wasn’t their job and said he should seek help from the mayor of neighbouring village, Sencelles.
However, in a catch – 22 turn of events, the Sencelles junta then told Gatcombe it wasn’t their responsibility to clear the debris.
“It’s an absolute disgrace. It’s everyone else’s responsibility, nothing to do with me,” said the retired Brit.
“Sencelles told me to get stuffed. All I’m getting is shit in both directions. If the people who are in control take our taxes and don’t do anything about it to keep us safe, what are we going to do?”
He added that the only official who has offered them any support is the mayor of Costitx, Antoni Salas Roca.
“We would normally expect them to totally disregard a foreigner making a complaint, but he has been good.” Brian said.
Mallorca has been battered by storms in the last few days, with a record breaking 200 litres per square metre of rain falling over 12 hours in the town of Soller.
600 homes on the island were left without electricity by the stormy weather.
The couple say they fear a repeat of a few years ago when they had to be towed from their street by a friend, after flood waters destroyed the back wall of their home and firefighters refused to rescue their two beloved Rhodesian Ridgeback dogs.
