The mayor of Madrid, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, has warned the opposition groups in Cibeles (PSOE, Más Madrid and Vox) this Tuesday that he will not allow them to carry out a “partisan use” of the closure of parks due to weather conditions adverse because “the integrity and security of the people of Madrid” are at stake.
This is how the councilor has stated, from the El Retiro park, moments before the delegate for the Environment and Mobility, Borja Carabante, meets with the opposition to address a possible modification in the protocol for the closure of parks in the capital by adverse weather conditions, such as the heat wave that forced the closure of eight large parks last Sunday, including El Retiro.
Martínez-Almeida has reiterated that the protocol that is currently applied “was approved by Manuela Carmena ten days before leaving the Government, by an acting government.” “We have inherited that government and now the opposition criticizes us for applying the protocol,” she criticized.
For this reason, he continued, the municipal government “is going to put the data on the table, in relation to the number of fallen trees, of fallen branches”, since it is necessary to “know what the risks are” while having into account the “concern of the citizenry”.
“We are not going with a closed proposal on whether or not to proceed with the modification of this protocol, because when the unity and integrity of the people of Madrid are at stake, we all have to portray ourselves. We will put this question of protocol revision on the table so that the groups also take responsibility for this issue,” he added.
In 2023 there have been a total of four red alerts with 13 incidents: 2 trees and 11 fallen branches. The previous year, there were 11 red alerts with 142 incidents: 17 fallen trees, 123 fallen branches and 2 felled trees due to risk of falling.
The objective of the ‘Protocol of action in response to the forecast of exceptionally adverse weather situations and management of incidents caused by trees in the Buen Retiro gardens in Madrid’ is to “prevent incidents that may occur related to the risk of falling branches or trees or other risks derived from strong gusts of wind, heat, rain or snow”.
The protocol establishes four levels of alert, based on the forecasts of the State Meteorological Agency (AEMET). Green corresponds to that situation in which none of the meteorological factors exceeds the established minimum threshold.
A Yellow level is established when there is no risk to the general population, although it would imply a certain probability of falling branches or trees.
Orange for when there is a significant risk with a greater probability of falling branches and trees (eviction is recommended and risk areas are marked out).
Finally, red alert carries a very significant risk, with a high probability of falling branches and trees in the gardens (the parks are closed).
