In the early hours of Tuesday morning (01 Oct 2025) Ibiza was hit by the remnants of hurricane Gabrielle. While other towns on the island were relatively unscathed, Ibiza Town bore the extreme brunt of Mother Nature.
Word soon spread across the globe as photos and videos were uploaded on to social media laying bare in horrific detail the devastation, it soon became clear that this was one of the most damaging storms in living memory.
Saturated streets, mudslides, rockfalls, collapsed roofs, DC10 under water, UNVRS without power, flights missed, cars submerged, tunnels full of water, the port of Ibiza cascading with water as passengers disembarked up to their knees and the 2 most important hubs of the island – the airport and hospital – both leaking like a sieve. This was a generational event that would be spoken about for years to come.
The following day the water had subsided and the big clean up had started, wellington boots and plastic bags with rubber bands became the required ‘fashion accessory’. Many businesses had been badly affected with water damage, a thick layer of brown mud remained and residents in complete shock.
Amazingly Ibiza once again showed its ability to bounce back. Government agencies did an incredible job to clean up the mess, a special mention must go to ferry operator Balearia which moved quickly to transport 70 vehicles and 140 members of the Military Emergency Unit (UME) from the mainland to reinforce the operations.
Less than 24 hours later and the island was more or less back to full operation which was unthinkable a few hours before but with the calm after the storm some serious questions need to be asked.
The main one is why did the mobile phone alert come through just after midday on Tuesday, hours after the Island had been inundated?
Many had gone to work as usual on Tuesday morning unaware of the chaos they were about to face. Surely the alert should have been sent the previous night, it would have been a shock especially with the harsh ring tone it came with but isn’t that the point, warning the population that Tuesday would be a very different day.
When the alert came through it was all but over and many had driven into the danger areas oblivious of the hazards they were about to face.
Witnesses also say there wasn’t any police presence on major roads warning people or diverting traffic away from the flooded areas which included Can Misses hospital where people were heading for their appointments unaware to what they were about to find.
Also the islands infrastructure needs a serious upgrade, specifically the tunnel on the airport road under the Las Salinas turnoff which inconceivably drains into the normal municipal system and was still closed 3 days after the event. The government have been aware of this since 2007 yet nothing has been done.
The Local Police in Ibiza received over 120 call outs and 1200 homes were left without electricity but thankfully there were no reports of death or serious injury due to the storm.
So many people deserve plaudits for their hard work, in 72 hours they achieved what would normally take 6 weeks but it’s the modus operandi before the event and improvement to existing infrastructure that now needs an urgent and detailed review.
MAN IN SAN AN by Martin Makepeace 