OLIVE PRESS
The Mijas Costa
FREE
ESCAPE: Afghans arrive
Safe haven SPAIN has announced plans to help Afghans fleeing the Taliban – but the offer has so far only been extended to those who have worked for the European Union (EU). Hundreds of refugees are set to be given temporary sanctuary in Spain as the country is set to become a ‘hub’ for former EU workers whose lives are in danger. Spain will offer permanent residency to around 40 to 60 families for now, while the rest will be distributed among the other EU countries according to diplomatic sources. Josep Borrell, the EU High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy, praised Spain for stepping in to offer vulnerable Afghans a chance of a better life.
FINAL ROUND - To the bloody feud that killed 18 people? See page 6
ANDALUCÍA
Vol. 15 Issue 376
www.theolivepress.es
Your expat
voice in Spain
August 25th - September 7th 2021
DON’T WAVE THIS AWAY!
SOLE SURVIVOR
DISASTER: Malaga could be struck by a giant wave should an earthquake strike in the Alboran Sea
Giant 6m tsunami could hit Costa del Sol in just 20 minutes, warn scientists DENSELY populated parts of the Andalucian coast could be devastated by a massive six-metre tsunami. According to a recent study thousands of homes could be destroyed and countless lives put at risk with little to no warning should a major quake hit the Averroes fault in the Alboran Sea, which lies beneath the Med between S p a i n and Mo-
rocco. The danger has long been known, but the new report by the Institut de Ciencies del Mar (ICM-CSIC) insists the devastation caused could be even worse than previously thought.
Detection
using a mathematical model warned the giant wave could THE SKY be 19.68 feet in DOCTOR size (6m) and take between ALL AREAS COVERED 21 and 35 minutes to reach 4G UNLIMITED the southINTERNET ern shores of IDEAL FOR Spain. STREAMING TV They concluded that curALSO IPTV, rent tsunami SATELLITE TV detection systems would tel: (0034) 952 763 840 not be suffiinfo@theskydoctor.com cient, meaning www.theskydoctor.com the authorities
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Tel: 952 147 834
See page 24
TM
By Cristina Hodgson
X
AN African woman was found clinging to an overturned dinghy 135 miles off the coast of the Canary Islands and airlifted to safety. The woman, 30, who was found in a ‘bad state of dehydration and heat exhaustion’, claimed another 50 people had been on board when the boat capsized. Rescuers retrieved two corpses but found no trace of the other occupants of the boat which was trying to reach Spain from the west coast of Africa. The survivor was rescued in poor weather after a cargo ship spotted her and pulled her onboard. Last year, more than 23,000 migrants arrived in the Canary Islands, eight times more than the previous year. And so far this year, 7,531 migrants have arrived in the Canaries, more than twice as many as in the same period in 2020. The Spanish NGO Caminando Fronteras claims at least 1,851 people lost their lives last year.
Researchers
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DEVASTATION: Official map shows danger areas
would not have the time to clear low-lying areas in time. Ferran Estrada, a geologist from the team said: “These giant waves can pose a threat to coastal populations and damage land-based infrastructure. “They can cause a huge economic and environmental crisis. “It is essential to improve warning measures to mitigate the impact of a possible tsunami.” He said the Averroes fault has, at its northwest end, a vertical drop of up to 5.4 metres that could generate a magnitude 7 earthquake. "We have studied the activity
of the fault going back 124,000 years and, according to historical records, the last major earthquake caused by this fracture may have been in 365 AD.”
Miraculous
The last major tsunami to hit Spain was in the aftermath of the 1755 Lisbon earthquake which left the Portuguese capital devastated. A tsunami flooded the Andalucian cities of Huelva and Cadiz, which were described as ‘miraculously surviving’ despite several deaths.