Meteotsunami in Porto Cristo on Monday.

Majorca Daily Bulletin reporterManacor25/07/2023 16:43
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On Monday night, diners at restaurants in Porto Cristo had to leave terraces when there was a 'rissaga', the local word for a meteotsunami.

Terraces were flooded because of the sudden rise in sea level. The water didn't enter premises, it just washed over the 'riuet' promenade, which it does from time to time. If there is a rissaga in Mallorca, then Porto Cristo is one of the places most susceptible to it.

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Miquel Gili of the Aemet met agency in the Balearics says that this phenomenon occurred on Monday because of variations in atmospheric pressure due to storms above the mass of warm air that has been sitting over the Balearics for the past several days.

Menorca experiences the rissaga more than the other islands, and in Ciutadella the rise in sea level was 77 centimetres, greater than in Porto Cristo (estimated to have been 50 cms) and in Sant Antoni, Ibiza, where it was 56 cms.

These meteotsunamis do sometimes cause damage, but it is more a case that they can be disconcerting, especially for visitors who unware of the phenomenon.