Islands prepare for heatwaves

THE National Weather Station is forecasting that many heatwaves will affect Spain and the Balearic Islands this summer, and for this reason the Health Department will be presenting their plan to combat deaths caused by the heat waves. Last year 26 people died because of the heat in Spain, the majority of these happened in the Canary Islands and Andalucia. In the Balearic Islands there was one death due to the heatwaves. As a result the Minister for Health, Elena Salgado, announced that this year's heatwave plan will be ready and in force by 1 June. The plan will run on similar lines to last year's plan, and will get help from the Weather Stations, as well as from the Ministry for Work and Social Matters and town councils. The majority of the people who died last year were old aged people, and for this reason the campaign focussed its efforts on this age group and the other vulnerable sectors of the population (children). Last year's plan had a budget of 2.67 million euros, and most was spent on the workforce in the municipal social services, who carried out door-to-door and telephone advice.