Picture: Taberna Burladero

The foreign population of the Balearics has rocketed by 17.2% in just one year, according to new figures from the National Statistics Institute. The figures show that the flow of migrants to the islands remains intense, with over 32,000 foreigners and 9,000 Spaniards arriving in one year. The figures also reveal that the total population of the islands on Jan 1st 2008 was 1,072,844 with 20.7% percent of residents being of non Spanish nationality. This means that the archipelago is the autonomous area with the highest percentage of immigrants.

Germans accounted for the largest single group of immigrants with 33,208 registered, while Britons made up the second largest group with 22,055. Moroccans came in third place with 20,652 registered, followed by Italians with 14,171. Other notable populations include Argentineans, Ecuadorians and Romanians.

The town with the highest number of foreign residents is Palma (77,330), followed by Calvia, where over 33% of residents are foreign. Ibiza Town came in third place with 11,604 foreigners, or almost a quarter of its inhabitants.

16.5% of Spain’s population as a whole is made up of foreign nationals.

Germans and Britons still the main groups

An icy cold front moving down from northern Europe brought snow and freezing rain to Mallorca yesterday (Wednesday). By the morning the temperature in the mountains had dropped to zero and people sat shivering in their houses, while at lower altitudes people had to put up with incessant rain.

A blanket of snow 10cm thick covered the ground at 400m and above and meteorologists are forecasting more cold and rainy weather to come over the weekend.

Flooded homes and shops, landslides, rock falls, uprooted trees and overflowing rivers – these were just some of the problems emergency services have been battling across the island after the heaviest rainfall for decades. Numerous roads were still closed the day after the storm on Monday and traffic was paralysed with hundreds of drivers being caught out in the storms.

In the Can Gallard urbanization 30 families had to be rescued due to flooding. The worst affected areas are Palma and Calvia, as well as areas around the Serra de Tramuntana, Andratx, Sant Elm, Puigpunyent, Estellencs, Esporles, Escora, Bunyola, Alaró and Stanwell.

By Monday afternoon emergency services had received reports of 1,500 incidents, 500 of which needed emergency attention, with a total of 2,600 calls being made to 112. Hundreds of police officers and troops were mobilized to help alleviate the situation, with many working all night. A dozen roads were buried by landslides, hampering rescue efforts.

An incredible 250 litres of rain per square metre fell in mountainous areas, causing streams and rivers to turn into raging torrents. Not since 1944 has such a volume been recorded. Widespread destruction, however, was avoided as the torrent alleviation system of floodgates and emergency water storage functioned well, according to Environment Minister Miquel Angel Grimalt. One unexpected benefit of this system is that water diverted into underground aquifers means they are now at 70 percent capacity – the highest level in 15 years. (JH)