A rare ‘meteotsunami’ weather warning has been issued for the Balearic Islands on Saturday.
State weather agency Aemet has placed Menorca on a yellow warning for so-called ‘rissagas’.
The weather phenomenon, also known as a ‘meteotsunami’, describes a sudden rise in sea level.
The alert is in place along the whole Menorca coastline between 6am and 11.59pm Saturday.
According to Aemet, strong winds could cause the sea level to surge by 0.7metres.
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It said the most at risk times will be during dawn, the early hours of the morning and at night.
‘The risk of a rissaga is low during the middle of the day,’ it said.
A rissaga is caused by rapid atmospheric pressure changes, not by seismic activity like a traditional tsunami.
The word rissaga is Catalan and is most commonly used in Menorca, where these events occur more frequently.
The phenomenon can happen within minutes, causing strong, fast currents that can damage boats.
In the past, vessels have been washed ashore or destroyed by the surge.
El Tiempo explains: ‘Some rissagas have caused millions of euros in losses, such as the one that occurred on June 15, 2006, or the one that occurred on the 21st of June in Ciutadella in 1984, when nearly a hundred boats sank.
‘Moments before, the port was almost completely emptied of water, so that the boats reached the bottom of the harbour.
‘Minutes later, the water suddenly returned to the port, overflowing and carrying sailboats and yachts onto the docks.’
