A holiday island in Spain will remain on an alert for a ‘meteotsunami’ until tomorrow morning, it has emerged.
State weather agency Aemet has extended the warning for the Balearic island of Menorca until at least 7.59am on Sunday.
The weather phenomenon is known by its Catalan name of ‘rissagas’ in Menorca, and describes a sudden rise in sea level.
The alert is in place for the entire coastline of the holiday island, where strong winds could cause the sea level to surge by 0.7metres.
It said the most at risk times will be during dawn, the early hours of the morning and at night.
A rissaga is caused by rapid atmospheric pressure changes, not by seismic activity like a traditional tsunami.
The word rissaga is most commonly used in Menorca, where the phenomenon occurs more frequently.
It 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.’
