The strong gusts of wind recorded throughout the morning in Lorca, which in some cases exceeded 70 kilometres per hour, caused the first incidents at midday.
First, a large sheet of metal hit the façade of the Bar Association, in the Plaza del Caño, after colliding with the roof of the Chamber of Commerce, which was badly damaged. Several units of the Local Police and the Consorcio de Extinción de Incendios were on the scene to assess the damage and remove the sheet metal, which was on top of a car and several motorbikes.
According to initial reports, the fence had been blown down from the upper neighbourhoods.
Also, in Floridablanca Street, firefighters intervened in one of the large pine trees located inside the garden of the Huerto Ruano mansion. Using the ladder of one of the larger CEIS trucks, they removed several branches that had broken in the wind to prevent them from falling uncontrollably into the street.
As a result of these incidents, Local Police proceeded to close the area of Las Alamedas to the public.