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British couple fear for their lives after Malaga floods
| Published: | 19 Oct at 6 PM |
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British expat couple Reg and June Squirrel are left fearing for their lives after a disastrous flood tore through their home in Villanueva del Rosario near Malaga.
Following torrential rain, two nearby rivers overflowed their banks and sent torrents of water racing through the property. The couple, who barely escaped with their lives, are now terrified that they won’t be able to escape further flooding.
According to June, in an interview with the Olive Press newspaper, the water was like a tsunami when it hit the house, tearing down a wall, breaking windows and and sweeping away the couple’s cars. They managed to escape through a window on the first floor, she added, and neighbours helped them out of the way of the raging torrent.
The couple, who’d lived in the house for eight years, lost almost everything, with furniture and other goods swept away by the waters. Reg told reporters that water from the river at the end of their garden was standing two metres deep in the house and left everything covered in almost half a metre of mud when it retreated.
A digger sent by the local authority together with help from volunteer friends and neighbours has helped clear up the mess, but the couple are devastated that their Spanish insurance company only offered half their annual premium in recompense. June said they’d been offered just a few hundred euros, but they’re fighting to get what they’d paid for.
She continued that they’d saved for years for their dream retirement home in Spain and had spent their savings on perfecting it, but they’ll never feel safe there again. June and Reg, originally from Bromley, Kent, are both in their 70s and have just celebrated their golden wedding anniversary.
Following torrential rain, two nearby rivers overflowed their banks and sent torrents of water racing through the property. The couple, who barely escaped with their lives, are now terrified that they won’t be able to escape further flooding.
According to June, in an interview with the Olive Press newspaper, the water was like a tsunami when it hit the house, tearing down a wall, breaking windows and and sweeping away the couple’s cars. They managed to escape through a window on the first floor, she added, and neighbours helped them out of the way of the raging torrent.
The couple, who’d lived in the house for eight years, lost almost everything, with furniture and other goods swept away by the waters. Reg told reporters that water from the river at the end of their garden was standing two metres deep in the house and left everything covered in almost half a metre of mud when it retreated.
A digger sent by the local authority together with help from volunteer friends and neighbours has helped clear up the mess, but the couple are devastated that their Spanish insurance company only offered half their annual premium in recompense. June said they’d been offered just a few hundred euros, but they’re fighting to get what they’d paid for.
She continued that they’d saved for years for their dream retirement home in Spain and had spent their savings on perfecting it, but they’ll never feel safe there again. June and Reg, originally from Bromley, Kent, are both in their 70s and have just celebrated their golden wedding anniversary.
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