After the Storm: Burebana Region Recovers from Severe Flooding

The water gives a truce in the Burebana region and after the continuous waterspouts of recent days -the strongest recorded on Monday afternoon in Briviesca- during yesterday only small storms were dropped that did not affect the lives of the residents . As if it were magic, the city woke up with hardly any mud on its streets, those that the day before were transformed into veritable rivers laden with hail that jeopardized the safety of more than one passerby. The large device made up of some 80 people – including firefighters, local police and volunteers – and quick action prevented personal damage and “less than expected with respect to materials,” says Pablo, owner of the Abrigaño bar.

From early in the morning, municipal workers intervened to remove with the help of hoses, shovels and brooms the remains of mud that the deluge swept away. Medina street, one of the most affected, showed its best face yesterday and barely showed signs that the previous day about “30 centimeters of water and rocks” had accumulated. The terraces returned to take their place and the people from Brivies took the opportunity to comment on what had happened. The owners of the affected premises dedicated the morning to finishing cleaning and, in the case of Daniela and Chema, to eliminating “the crap accumulated in the sewers”, those that were not able to filter the 40 liters that fell in a matter of 35 minutes.

Álvaro Morales, the acting mayor, once again reiterates the need for the “Board to take measures on the CL-632 highway” to prevent the mud that is generated on nearby farms when sunflowers are planted from reaching the city in the case it rains. “I should build a grid to channel the water to the Valderueda stream,” he explains. Despite the scare on Monday, the socialist only dedicates good words to the people who cooperated in the cleanup actions and appreciates the time invested.

Others affected. The yellow warnings for rain and storms in recent days have kept more than one resident of the small town of Berzosa de Bureba awake at night, one of those with the worst consequences. Heavy rainfall that began early Sunday morning and was reactivated on Monday afternoon caused the flooding of the streets, a house and damage to both the access road (BU-V-5211) and the farms.

The 60.8 liters that fell from 4:00 p.m. on Monday in a matter of two hours worsened a situation that residents already considered “complicated” when they verified how the force with which the water invaded the urban center for the second consecutive day left in its path a “great amount of accumulated mud.” The 37.1-litre downpour of water that fell for just over three hours at dawn on Sunday caused subsidence on the slopes located along the margins of the access road to the town. María Jesús Hermosilla, the still mayor, fears that “as it continues to rain, the entrance and exit of the town could be closed to us.”

Another of the towns affected by the waterspout was Valdazo and the CL-663 road, which joins Cornudilla with Poza de la Sal, which has ditches full of stones.