Sociedad

The FOMO (fear of missing out) is driving the already huge excitement to see the total solar eclipse the day after tomorrow, the first one that can be enjoyed in Spain in a century. Although it was predictable that it would happen, it worries the authorities and public managers because it could lead to collapses, last-minute displacements, and uncivil behavior. Many of those who criticized so much attention to the astronomical phenomenon are now trying, two days before the eclipse, to have a good plan to experience it.

The space agency NASA has landed in a village in Burgos that was abandoned for two decades to install its powerful telescopes with which to broadcast live to 10 million people the solar eclipse on August 12.

The great excitement generated by the total solar eclipse threatens to collapse roads, access to the best observation spots, and cause a disorderly invasion of natural spaces amid the general alert for the risk of forest fires. There is deep interest, but also uncertainty, because no one knows for sure the final scale of the mobilization. In the middle of the tourist season and with accommodations already full, prices soar and opportunists and scams appear. Tourist behavior will also be key, in addition to internal mobility, with locals and enthusiasts moving at the last minute if bad weather appears.

The sexist murder of the civil guard Laura Cruz at the Llanes barracks has reopened the debate about protection mechanisms within the Armed Institute. Although the alleged aggressor, Dámaso Fernández, also a civil guard, had his service weapon withdrawn and had recently been expelled from the Corps following a final conviction for gender-based violence, he managed to access the barracks, steal a colleague’s weapon in Zamora, and shoot his partner to death.

The east, center, and south of the peninsula, as well as the Balearic Islands, will experience “intense heat” and a “fully summery” atmosphere this weekend, with temperatures exceeding 40 degrees in some places, although there will be very strong storms, even with hail, in some inland areas.

The months of March and April were a time of great unrest for the Spanish Government, which feared that the PISA Report, the most important education tests in the world, would be affected by an incident that occurred in Catalonia, a student exemption rate almost five times higher than allowed.

Exactly 30 years ago today, more than 600 vacationers were enjoying their holidays at the Las Nieves campsite in Biescas, Huesca. In the mid-afternoon, the sky turned black, and the first drops invited people to seek shelter in tents and caravans. The rain intensified, but not as much as at the head of the Pyrenean Arás ravine, where up to 200 liters per square meter fell in one hour, with a peak of 500 in eight minutes. The torrent dragged stones, logs, and mud, destroyed bridges and dams of the artificial channel, and overflowed to sweep away the tourist complex, located on the alluvial fan of the ravine. 87 people died, 183 were injured, and it took almost a year to recover all the bodies.

On the upcoming August 12th, the first total eclipse visible from the Iberian Peninsula in the last hundred years will take place. For weeks, Sanitat has been emphasizing — through statements, advertisements, and press conferences — the importance of protecting the eyes during the observation of this astronomical phenomenon. Although the totality phase of the eclipse in Catalonia will last barely between 28 seconds and 1 minute and 32 seconds, the Govern — as well as the different autonomous communities and the Ministry of Health — expect great social anticipation, especially concentrated in the areas where the eclipse can be observed in totality, that is, in areas of Camp de Tarragona and Lleida.

The Ministry of Health reported this Thursday the detection of an imported case of Andes strain hantavirus in a French-Argentine citizen who is currently in Galicia, after traveling through several European countries.

The home of Ceuta resident Sabah Hamed, located in the Los Rosales neighborhood, has once again become a point of humanitarian attention since last Saturday, following Ceuta’s latest migratory crisis. Hamed offers help to hundreds of people every day, all affected by last week’s massive influx.