Isha Sesay
A STREET in Mallorca has been named after Rafael Nadal as a thank you for his involvement in the October 2018 floods.
Sant Llorenc des Cardassar, the epicentre of the devastating downpours, also declared the Mallorcan sporting hero as the municipality’s adoptive son.
In a statement the council said: “We want to thank Nadal for his involvement, intervention and economic contribution to those affected by the October 9 storm.”
They went on to explain that the municipality was able to ‘quickly return to normality thanks to the generosity and altruism of thousands of people, including Rafa Nadal’.
Nadal had joined thousands of local volunteers to deal with the immediate aftermath of the storm.
This included cleaning up streets ravaged by mud.
He also organised a charity race and donated €1 million to help those affected.
The storm had begun on the afternoon of October 9 2018 with heavy rains covering an area of 232 km, including Sant Llorenc, Arta, Son Servera, Manacor and Capdepera.
A total of 13 people lost their lives with the search for victims lasting several days.
It also caused considerable structural damage to hundreds of homes.
The most affected village was Sant Llorenc des Cardassar, a municipality of approximately 8,000 inhabitants.
The council will hold a minute’s silence today to mark the two year anniversary of the floods and to pay homage to all those that died.
It comes as Nadal capped off a successful 2019 with a Silver Medal from the Guardia Civil.
The tennis star was handed the gong for his impressive off-court heroics.
