A number of British tourists have shared the dire situation in Murcia, Spain that has forced them to go without running water for a week. Flooding on the Iberian Peninsula caused by Storm Alice caused water supplies to become contaminated across the region, prompting Spanish authorities to issue evacuation orders in some areas.
Those that remained, however, have taken to TikTok to share their woes. Jodie Marlow shared footage of her “reality” from Los Alcazares, revealing her family had “no access” to water. “I’m in a flood zone and we have had so much rain,” she began in a video, which saw residents making their way through ankle-deep murky water flowing through the streets.
“Six or seven days with no water, it’s been crazy,” she said. “The town hall has been amazing though in keeping us up-to-date and they tried to keep us as safe as possible in making sure we went to high ground.”
Relieved that her car had survived the disaster, Jodie continued: “As you can see there is mud everywhere, but the council has been amazing – the clean-up has been insane.”
However, heading into a local shop, Jodie noted the dire situation on its shelves. “We are on one week of no water… this is the reality of what the shops look like,” she added, revealing that bottled water was now in very sparse supply. Large trucks with tankers on the back have been deployed to the area.
Other consequences have seen Jodie forced to travel to another neighbourhood to use a laundrette to wash her clothes, while her family have resorted to using paper plates and cutlery as they are unable to wash up. “It’s been an eventful week,” she admitted.
Meanwhile, a second Brit – Jade Gartshore – confessed she had been unable to shower for four days in her own clip recorded in Los Alcazares. Instead, she was forced to travel to a community centre for access to clean water.
“We are lucky enough that our neighbours in Cartagena are helping us with water and shower facilities!” she explained. “We’ve had news that in the storm it has damaged a system meaning that our water is contaminated, we have told that I can be anywhere up to five days without water. This is day four, today our water has been turned off to treat the water.”
Like Jodie, however, she was quick to praise the local authorities. “I have to say the councils have been absolutely fantastic, we have had updates every couple of hours from the mayors, even 3am!” she hailed. “I feel very grateful to be part of such a beautiful community even in a difficult time.”
Writing in response, another Brit commented: “Here in Sucina, the water is off possibly [for] 6 days. Just been in my pool for a swish off, getting plenty of notices about the situation and we have a water truck where we can fill our bottles up!”
A second person shared their situation: “We’re in San Pedro and it’s the same – we’ve booked a hotel in Pilar for the week to go back and forward to shower and wash clothes.”
Whilst a third TikTok user in nearby La Torre added: “We have been told tonight the water is now not usable for personal use. We’re now in the same boat. We’re all be washing in the Mar Menor [lagoon] soon.”
It comes after a tornado ripped through nearby Cartagena, Murcia, on Friday (October 10) with 67 people forced to evacuate the area. Authorities issued a red alert in the area due to the storm, warning of “extraordinary danger”.
Director General of Emergencies and the Interior, Pablo Gárriz, said at the time: “The situation that concerns us most right now is in those municipalities where we have identified the possibility of heavy rain, hence the orange alert.”