La Zenia Beach immediately following the storms

The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Food and Environment has launched the 2017 Coastal Plan, with an investment of 16.5 million euros, to repair the beaches affected by the storms of late November and December in the provinces of South and east of Spain.

These are actions to restore the affected coastline in the Autonomous Communities of Catalonia (provinces of Girona, Barcelona and Tarragona), the Valencian Community (Castellón, Valencia and Alicante), the Region of Murcia and Andalusia (Cadiz, Malaga and Almeria). The works will start immediately.

In the Communitat Valenciana the work will focus on the repair of the following damages:

Castellón: Repairing the promenade in the town of Almenara will be undertaken. In addition, gravels must be provided at various points along the coast corresponding to other municipal terms in the province.  The estimated total budget in the province of Castellón amounts to 2,000,000 euros.

In Valencia many beaches need the replacement of hundreds of tons of replacement sand as well as repairs to the sand dune systems and infrastructures. The most affected areas are those of Valencia, Cullera, Tavernes de la Valldigna, Alboraya and El Puig, and damage has also occurred in other municipalities.

The estimated total budget in the province of Valencia amounts to 2,000,000 euros.

Alicante: Damage caused mainly with the loss of sand, creating large channels and ravines where the beach has been washed away. Many municipalities in the province also need repairs to walkways and pavements.

There has also been damage to the retaining wall that supports the footpath of La Mata beach in the municipality of Torrevieja and to the access at Vistamar beach, Pilar de la Horadada.

 The estimated total budget in the province of Alicante amounts to 1,200,000 euros.

Murcia: The damage consisted basically of sand loss, damage to walkways, footbridges and landslides.

Damage has occurred throughout the coast, specifically in the following municipalities: Aguilas, Lorca, Mazarrón, Cartagena, Los Alcazares, San Javier and San Pedro del Pinatar.

The estimated total budget in the province of Murcia amounts to 4,600,000 euros.