The flood of the Tajo collapses part of the Old Bridge of Talavera de la Reina | Spain

The Growth of the Tajo river flow has caused the collapse of two sections known as Roman bridge o Viejo Puente de Talavera de la Reina (84,000 inhabitants) this morning. « Tonight is a terrible day for the history of Talavera. Our Old or ‘Roman Bridge’ has just collapsed a part. An avenue of terrible water for the city. Thank you that we close it for the citizen pass Domingo, the councilor has added a video in which you can see how one of the arches of the bridge collapses due to the intense current of the river. Near noon, the president of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, has expressed his solidarity with the residents of Talavera de la Reina for the breakage of « a whole symbol of the city » and has offered the help of the Executive for reconstruction. « We will protect everyone’s heritage, » he said in a message on the same social network.

The province of Toledo, in which about 200 people have been evicted, is being one of the most affected this weekend by Borrasca Martinho. They have had to leave their homes about 100 people in Santa Cruz de Retamar (1,600 inhabitants), the last 40 last night. In Escalona (3,801 inhabitants) they are a hundred and housing in Calalberche (1,200 neighbors) and the inheritances (800 inhabitants) have also been uninhabited. In Merendjar, in Guadalajara, the flood of the rivers keep several roads from the secondary network cut.

In addition to the collapse of the old bridge, the water has also arrived in Talavera de la Reina to several garages and a sports center near the Tagus. Since the Government of Castilla-La Mancha activated the Special Civil Protection Plan for the risk of flooding in operational situations 1 for the provinces of Toledo and Guadalajara, 13 days ago, 230 incidents have been registered. The operational situation 1 implies that the 112 emergency service coordinates and collaborates with the municipalities the prevention, monitoring and response. The Operational Coordination Center (CECOP) trusts an improvement in the situation this Sunday. An increase in unwins, which they consider stabilized is not expected.

The Government delegate in Castilla-La Mancha, Milagros Tolón, yesterday put “all the aid” of the central executive available to the populations affected by the floods of the Tajo and Alberche rivers in the province of Toledo. Tolón visited Talavera yesterday for being one of the areas in which he most worried the flood of the Tajo River and where this Saturday reaches speeds greater than 1,000 cubic meters per second, according to Efe.

After the detachment of the Old Bridge of Toledo, the Municipal Police has established a second security perimeter and has advised the population that approaches the environment for security reasons, as reported by the Consistory on social networks. In addition, he added that this Sunday there will be an assessment of what happened.

The old or Santa Catalina bridge is a good of cultural interest that has historically served as a route of communication with the Vega located in the southern margin of the city. The bridge has its origins in a previous structure of the Roman era, whose work is partially reuse as the foundation of the first batteries in the northern margin. The Ministry of Culture of Castilla-La Mancha places it in a period that goes from the 1st century to the 21st century.

The oldest documentary reference of the bridge dates from 1227, when King Ferdinand III ordered to control the commercial transfer in the bridges of the Tagus. « From its construction, various conservation works were undertaken despite which they did not prevent the bridge pedestrians and cyclists.

Information about this infrastructure indicates that it could have 22 arches. A large part of them are different from each other, the result of successive reforms. Among the forms has half -point arches, others that do not reach half a circumference and others of proposed profile.