Rough sea and nearly 13-meter waves: What the storm revealed about Menorca and Mallorca

Rough sea and nearly 13-meter waves: What the storm revealed about Menorca and Mallorca

49 incidents, no injuries — and many open questions about preparedness

On Sunday a storm swept over the Balearics: the buoy in the port of Mahon recorded a peak wave of 12.97 meters around 2 p.m., and winds lashed the shore everywhere. Authorities counted a total of 49 storm-related incidents, 36 of them on Menorca. All municipalities there were affected: Ciutadella (12), Mahon (11), Es Mercadal (5), Sant Lluís (3), Es Castell (3) and Es Migjorn Gran (2). Twelve incidents were reported on Mallorca and one on Ibiza. There were no injuries — that is the good news.

Key question: How well does our infrastructure — especially in ports and at exposed coastal points — protect us from such extreme waves, and what urgently needs to be improved? This is not an academic detail; it was visible on the quays of Mahon and Ciutadella, where fallen fences, ripped metal plates and overturned containers blocked everyday life. Similar overnight damage was reported elsewhere in the Balearics, for example Night Storm Hits Andratx and Calvià – Are We Really Prepared?.

Brief analysis: The figures show that Menorca was hit hardest this time. Local emergency teams had activated the emergency plan in Ciutadella and closed roads to the port; sports centers and the racetrack were asked to suspend activities. Reports of split trees and torn-down signs are classic consequences of strong gusts — gusts of up to 108 km/h were measured in Cala Rajada/Capdepera, and up to 98 km/h in the Serra d'Alfàbia. All of this fits a short but intense storm phase with very high seas that triggered an orange warning in several marine areas, as reported in Storm warning on the coast: Ten-meter waves and freezing nights in Mallorca.

What is often missing in public debate: it is not only about measurement values and isolated images of flooding or broken fences. It is about preventive maintenance: trees along access roads, loose signage, poorly anchored containers and crumbling shore reinforcements quickly turn strong wind into a risk for people and infrastructure. We repeatedly see the same danger points — and it is often not a question of large sums of money but of prioritization.

An everyday scene: on the Passeig Marítim in Mahon fishermen were still at the quay on Monday morning, checking mooring lines and shaking their heads at the torn-up foam. In Ciutadella residents cleared streetlights while children in rubber boots splashed around puddles. The impacts are that close: the disruption doesn't start where warning signs are placed, but in the small daily actions of people who live and work by the sea.

Concrete solutions, no empty talk:

1) Systematic securing of port areas: More certified mooring points, mobile breakwaters for exposed harbors and priority for repairing quay walls. The Mahon buoy recorded the data — such measurements must be integrated into local port plans.

2) Priority for vegetation and road safety: Regular trimming of roadside trees, stronger anchoring of signs and containers, targeted checks before autumn and winter storms.

3) Public information and clear warning chains: Early warnings not only via media but through local loudspeaker systems, municipal WhatsApp groups and notices at ports and sports centers.

4) Training and emergency exercises: Municipalities like Ciutadella demonstrated that an activated emergency plan works. Such plans must be practised regularly — with volunteers, ports, operators of sports facilities and racecourses.

5) Use of data: Measurements from buoys, wind stations and AEMET must be systematically collected and used for risk analyses to map vulnerable sections, as highlighted in Storm warning in Mallorca: Is the island prepared for wind and rain?.

My pointed conclusion: We were lucky that no one was injured this time. The measurements — nearly 13-meter waves in the Mahon basin, gusts up to 108 km/h — are a wake-up call. In Mallorca and Menorca it becomes clear again that technical measurements alone are not enough; they must be accompanied by regular maintenance of coastal infrastructure, clear warning channels and practical exercises. Storm days are not an abstract weather report; they are everyday life on the island that you feel: the roar, the creaking of masts, neighbours coming out of their houses to help. If we combine this everyday competence with better protection, the chances are good that the next series of storms will cause less damage, as discussed in New Storm Front on Mallorca: How Prepared Are the Island and Its People?.