MARBELLA – On Monday afternoon a quarter to five, a resident of Marbella posted a video on social media of what appears to be a tornado over Marbella. Half an hour later, weather institute Aemet called on witnesses for more images of the phenomenon.
It turned out to be a short-lived, very violent whirlwind that raged over the southern Spanish seaside resort. Just east of downtown at the Costa del Sol hospital, the phenomenon caused damage and one minor injury. The fire brigade had to go out to remove blown-away items. Trees blew over, glass on the facade of the hospital shattered and building materials flew around.
Tornado en Marbella pic.twitter.com/nBSisWhFZM
— raw ۞ (@soyRaw) December 5, 2022
One of the detached rubber insulation plates hit a hospital worker who suffered a minor head injury. Furthermore, no reports of personal damage were made. Witnesses told local media that the phenomenon lasted less than a minute but “everything flew around” and “it was very scary”.
Power failure
During the afternoon, power in Marbella went out several times. Seven electricians small working to restore power.
Small, short-lived tornado
Jesús Riesco, director of Aemet in Málaga, says in the newspaper SUR that given the damage so far, the tornado can be classified in the category F0 to F1. He emphasized this is a very premature classification and that a more detailed analysis is awaited. It is clear, however, it was a very small, short-lived tornado that only affected a very small area.
“It is a phenomenon that is impossible to predict on this scale. It occurs in situations of severe Atlantic storms with moderate instability. The phenomenon is usually more frequent in unpopulated areas or over the sea, where it is hardly noticed. This time, the tornado takes place over Marbella and that’s another story.
Firefighters remove fallen trees and broken branches
The tornado together with the torrential rain and strong winds have also blown down trees and broken branches further in the city. Twelve firefighters in two cars are along with eight pruners to remove it. Fortunately, no personal injuries were reported, although several large trunks and branches fell on parked cars and caused damage. The wind also moved some dumpsters a few feet and toppled parked motorcycles, among other things.
Authorities are warning of accumulations of water due to the large amount of rain that has fallen in just a few minutes. They caused problems, especially in Nueva Andalucía.
Aemet has activated code orange until Tuesday morning for heavy rains in the province of Málaga, particularly along the west coast and in the Guadalhorce valley.
Rain predicted all week in Malaga
After a Tuesday morning with rain expected throughout the province, it will be less cloudy on Wednesday with only a few showers. For Thursday and Friday, however, precipitation again plays the leading role.
Related post: Rain in parts of Spain during the ‘Puente de Diciembre‘
Until Sunday, Aemet expects a succession of fronts that will leave water intermittent throughout the province. For example, rain is expected all day on Thursday with a chance of 100% until noon, and between 90% and 100% until 12 noon on Friday morning.
It will continue to rain on Friday 9 December, although the showers will become weaker as the day progresses.
