A large tree falls in the center of a municipality in Alicante

A tree has caused chaos in Orihuela. A specimen of plane tree fell during the early hours of Saturday in the center of this municipality of Alicante. Fortunately, the collapse did not cause personal or material damage, but it forced the complete closure of traffic on Duque de Tamames Avenue.

The Department of Infrastructure of the Orihuela City Council has removed the tree from the public road and the councilor responsible for the area, Víctor Villaverde, has announced that he will request a technical report to clarify the causes that led to this incident. The councilor emphasizes that the tree was inspected in December and was "in good condition."

As he recalls, Villaverde commissioned a first report, once he assumed the delegation, to know the state of the different trees planted in the area, since it was known that Gabriel Miró roundabout had been without irrigation for more than a year and a half due to a system breakdown. This situation caused severe drought in this emblematic area of Orihuela.

Likewise, experts who conducted the analysis had already warned of the urgent need to act, alerting of the imminent danger of drought in the roundabout and indicating that some trees were already being affected by prolonged lack of irrigation. Following this warning, last December, casuarinas and plane trees were inspected, including the fallen specimen.

The resulting report included resistographies and physiological and pathological tests, evidencing the "poor condition" of two casuarina species, whose stability could not be guaranteed. Given their location in pedestrian areas, near the playground and ornamental fountain, urgent felling of these specimens was recommended due to imminent risk of falling. The Department of Infrastructure processed an emergency contract for felling the affected casuarinas and did not act on others as they were vital and without risk.

Councilor Valverde pointed out that "situations like last night's with sudden tree falls are unfortunately very common in recent months in many localities with healthy trees that fall suddenly."

"The most important thing is to ensure the safety of residents so we will review them again. The large trees in Orihuela have mostly gone six years without pruning and we will proceed to do it this winter as soon as technicians indicate. We have sufficient funds to carry out this work with the new budget. I appreciate the quick response from the staff of Parks and Gardens and Street Cleaning to ensure everything is in perfect condition," he concluded.