We were caught in terrifying 75mph Majorca storm… we had to run for our lives with three screaming kids, say Brit family
A BRIT family had to run for their lives with three screaming children as 75mph winds battered the island of Majorca in a terrifying storm.
Newly-engaged Jessica Gorman and Scott Goodall had their family holiday “turned to mayhem” when torrential downpours flooded the popular Brit hotspot.
Jessica described how she had to brave the hurricane strength winds with her seven-year-old Piers, five-year-old Roman, and three-month-old baby Ritchie as there were no taxis around.
The mum-of-three, who was having a family stroll to the old town market in Puerto Pollensa, had to run “as quick as we could” for half an hour to get back to their hotel.
“The roads were empty, there were no cars driving, it was like a ghost town,” she told Mail Online.
“The kids were screaming and we were worried about the baby obviously being so young.
“It was so windy, I felt like the the pram was moving side to side… it was horrendous.”
The Brit described how chaos took over the Balearic paradise as “gushes of water were coming out of nowhere”, adding that she had “never seen rain like it” before.
“People were losing shoes, we had the children screaming and crying thinking something bad was going to happen. They were panicking,” she said.
Dad Scott was standing outside for about an hour and half completely drenched as he tried to flag down cars because Jessica’s milk supply for the baby had run out.
After racing through the streets with a pram, they finally got back to the hotel – only to find the ground floor had flooded.
“We thought we’d go out for a lovely little stroll to the market and it turned to mayhem. It was extremely extremely frightening,” Jessica said.
The mum said that the only good news was that she got engaged the day before.
“Scott was actually planning to do it today so its good that he done it yesterday in the sun,” she joked.
Jessica and her family were one of the many Brit holidaymakers to face despair as strong winds and heavy rains slammed Spain on its Mediterranean coast on Sunday.
The storm also hit the touristic Balearic archipelago, causing serious damage and flight disruptions.
Gusts of up to 75mph, downpours, and hail also hit Catalonia and Valencia on mainland Spain, which were all under a high-risk warning by the national meteorological agency AEMET.
Local authorities reported several people were injured, according to the Spanish press.
Fallen trees and flooded streets were also reported across the region.
Spanish airport operator Aena said 24 flights were cancelled and 29 were diverted to and from the islands.
Aemet has extended the weather warning until Monday for a small portion of the archipelago and Catalonia.
The risk is expected to decrease by Tuesday.
The storm came with a drop in temperatures, which follows Spain’s fourth heatwave this summer that had ended Thursday.
The wind also snapped the moorings of a 1,080ft P&O cruise ship stationed in Palma, driving it into a moored oil tanker and injuring six people, local port authorities said.
Brit passengers onboard were injured in the terrifying smash and thousands of holidaymakers face long delays as a result.
A P&O spokesperson said: “P&O Cruises Britannia was involved in a weather-related incident while alongside in Palma de Mallorca.
“A small number of individuals sustained minor injuries and are being cared for by the onboard medical centre.
“To allow our technical teams to make an assessment Britannia will remain alongside in Palma de Mallorca tonight with onboard entertainment and activities scheduled.”
Britannia, which entered service in 2015, is 330 metres long and weights 143,000 tons, according to the company’s website.
It has 13 guest decks and an operating capacity of 3,647 guests and 1,350 crew.