Hundreds of people have refused to leave a massive campsite in Murcia despite a red alert for dangerous rainfall and storms.
Guardia Civil officers spent much of Friday morning pleading with residents at Villas Caravaning in La Manga, many of whom are expats, including a number of Germans and Brits.
It came as DANA Alice was predicted to drop up to 180 litres of rain per square metre on the area.
By Friday afternoon, Cartagena had already recorded 40 litres per square metre, but residents said it is not enough to justify leaving.
According to emergency personnel on site, some occupants have coordinated through WhatsApp and are now barricading themselves inside their homes.
‘They won’t answer the door and insist the rain isn’t bad enough to warrant leaving,’ said one officer, speaking to respected newspaper El Español.
The site is home year-round to around 400 families, many of them German retirees living on the Costa Calida.
On Friday morning, the campsite was surrounded by emergency services: three Guardia Civil patrol cars, two from the local police, two fire trucks, and four Civil Protection vehicles.
The Guardia Civil has been using loudspeakers to urge people to leave, shouting: ‘Attention, this is the Guardia Civil. Evacuate the area due to flood risk. This is urgent!’
With roads already starting to flood, the Cartagena City Council ordered the site to be evacuated.
Residents are reportedly being offered shelter at the Cabezo Beaza sports centre.
The RM-F54 road, linking Los Belones to Islas Menores and Los Nietos, has been closed, and drivers on the RM-12 motorway are being warned to proceed with caution as maintenance crews work to keep it safe.
The heaviest rainfall is expected across the Campo de Cartagena region. Voluntary evacuation has also been advised for Algameca Chica, a riverside settlement near the mouth of the Benipila ravine.
So far, 22 people have boarded an evacuation bus and about 50 families have left on their own. However, roughly 300 families remain inside the campsite.
Without a court order, police cannot force entry into homes, even under an administrative evacuation order authorised by the regional government.
Campsite staff are assisting emergency crews, and one employee fluent in English and German is helping explain the risks to foreign residents.
