Storms hit Sant Jordi and cause damage and injuries in Barcelona

The hail and the heavy rains that have fallen three times in Barcelona until early afternoon have caused multiple material damageboth in the stops from books Y roses like in the public road. In addition, some people have had to be cared for by the Medical Emergency Service (SEM).

The health authorities confirm that they are carrying out various interventions, some of them by anxiety attacks derived from the sudden effects of the storm and the crowd that gathered in the Passeig de Gràcia and surroundings. However, SEM sources consulted still do not have a balance of the people served.

The first batch of heavy rains It has taken place around 1:00 p.m. and has already caused the first lamentations of the sellers. In fact, one of them phoenix bookstore, cried desolately while trying to protect the books. But the one that has been disastrous for the ‘dyad’ has been the second: at 2:15 p.m., hail and strong gusts of wind they have invaded the literary superilla. After 16.00 another storm has started.

The awnings of many stalls have been blown away, as well as some tables and the plastic tarps that they protected the books of the water. Vendors rushed to salvage the material with little success. All this, with the cries and lamentations of the passers-by, who have also been frightened by the thunder stunners.

The storm has caused steep drop of branches of trees from Passeig de Gràcia. Although they were not bulky in size or very heavy, they have been enough to hit the crowd and hurt several people. Some have also tripped over them and fallen to the ground.

The hail, which has come to fall heavily, has caused many slips in the streets. In addition, the people ached for its impact, since the unusual fact to see balls up to three millimeters in diameter.

The emergency services have been mobilized in record time: several Firefighters and SEM crews, as well as patrols from the Urban Guard and the Mossos de Esquadra They have appeared in seconds on Passeig de Gràcia with Gran Via. The first thing they have done has been to calm the crowd and order traffic, both vehicles and pedestrians.

On the central promenade, between Gran Via and Diputació, the Firefighters have climbed the trees with ladders to cut more branches that put the safety of citizens at risk. In addition, the cleaning workers They have rushed to remove the branches from public roads.

Several people who were walking through the stalls have come to the rescue and have helped the vendors to safeguard them. In Passeig de Gràcia with Consell de Cent there has been a human chain formed by a ten people What was he wearing? book blocks from the ‘stands’ to the portals of the central street to put them in a safe place. “We will not withstand another deluge,” said a vendor at the Abacus stand.

Another concern that the merchants had as a result of the strong water storm was the safety of the electrical installationsnecessary to operate the vending machines and illuminate the stands when it gets dark.

In this sense, many workers forced marches to withdraw the electric cables of the streets to avoid shorts and possible accidents. For a few minutes, several stops have not been able to issue sales tickets for this reason.

The rain has forced most publishing companies and stalls to postpone book signings until early afternoon, waiting for the weather to improve. Currently there is a rainy front that moves from Tarragona and central Catalonia to the east and traps the province of Barcelona in its waters.