It never rains but it pours

It Never Rains But It Pours

The heavy rain has returned to Andalucía with an orange alert posted. Of course everyone is worried that we will have a repeat of the floods of a few weeks ago. If anyone had not noticed the heavy rain they may have received an e mail telling them just how bad it was going to be. A RED alert was even reported. Here's what they mean for those who read Spanish

Color	Nivel de Riesgo
rojo	el riesgo meteorológico es extremo (fenómenos meteorológicos no habituales de intensidad excepcional y con un nivel de riesgo para la población muy alto).
naranja	existe un riesgo meteorológico importante (fenómenos meteorológicos no habituales y con cierto grado de peligro para las actividades usuales).
blanco	no existe riesgo meteorológico para la población en general aunque sí para alguna actividad concreta. Este nivel no genera ningún aviso pero hace una llamada para que se esté atento a la predicción meteorológica en vigor. Se emite esta información en un boletín nacional de situaciones blancas.
verde	no existe ningún riesgo meteorológico.

Solo se generan avisos específicos cuando se prevé alcanzar los niveles “naranja” o “rojo” si bien se informa también sobre qué zonas geográficas se encuentran en nivel blanco.


Incidentally the reasons  for the flooding I have heard have ranged from incompetence to deliberate dereliction of duty. So far  none of the accusations is being investigated. Divine rather than human error appears to be indicated.

As usual when it rains here many 'vecinos' (neighbours) have hung polythene sheets on their doors to keep the rain out. It must be effective or they would have stopped doing it by now but we don't do it and we have not had any leaks through the front door yet. The Plaza Baja has been very quiet today; the usual groups of local men that sit on the steps of the church, outside bars or in doorways drinking from big bottles of Cruzcampo and smoking cigarettes that have a strange smell not unlike fox (or skunk, but I've never smelt a skunk) are huddled in doorways drinking from big.........
Nobody wears a 'mack' or an anorak here. They just carry umbrellas. Odd folk.

I went to renew my house insurance yesterday. Apparently 'Act of God' does not exist in insurance terms any more. Here in Spain all house insurance premiums include a levy which goes to the goverment 'consorcio' or Consorcio de Compensación de Seguros which takes responsibility for paying out compensation in the event of a 'disaster'. The Consorcios were set up in 1954 as a response to Terrorist acts and have been expanded to include floods , earthquakes etc.

Into every life a little rain must fall, as my mum used to say.

25/10/2012