Today we want to send you a small reminder of the unforgettable storm of July 16, 1980, known as the Carmen cloud.
The afternoon of July 16, 1980, in Cieza, darkness fell; it is an image that can never be forgotten.
A multitude of lightning bolts begin to appear, accompanied by their corresponding thunder that truly sounded like cannon fire in a war. At the same time, large stones, like chicken eggs, fall from the sky; the sound of this hail hitting surfaces (streets, cars, buildings) is terrifying.
It was approximately 15 minutes in which it seemed that the much-talked-about end of the world was coming to Cieza, the streets were white, cars were wrecked, as well as the blinds and many roofs of the houses.
Many people from Cieza will remember the panic experienced by everyone who was in the city that afternoon, the crying of the children, the incredulous expression of adults seeing such a storm; we could rather believe that we were living in a movie during those minutes.
After the storm passed, all I could think about was, "What happened? What a disaster! Was it really just a dream? My house has destroyed blinds, my roof is collapsing."
In orchard areas, all the fruit in the middle of harvesting then disappeared from the trees, falling to the ground unrecognizable, while the trees themselves were completely destroyed by the intensity of the storm.
The losses and damage were incalculable, and by taking a walk through Cieza, one can still see them in some buildings that existed that year.
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