The intense rain this Thursday put in check Monastery of the Holy Face, in Alicante, when the rainfall activated by the orange alert from the State Meteorological Agency (Aemet) They threatened to flood the home of the Canons Regular of Saint Augustine. The main street, where the small door of access to the rooms, through which you access the area prior to the Santa Faz dressing roomquickly filled with water, dragging leaves, branches and remains of trees, and putting both the nuns and the monastery at risk.
In the midst of the emergency, were the neighbors, with the help even of some religious, who acted to prevent the water from reaching the interior of the monastery. “We were about to get the water in.. Other times we ourselves have had to try to unclog the sewers with long poles, like poles, but this time It has been the neighbors who “They have jumped in to help us,” says Sister Irene Estadella, vicar of the community. “Especially the neighbor across the street began to remove the debris that accumulated in the drain, although no matter how much she cleaned it, water always drags more remains than can be removed,” he points out.
The risk is not new. The street follows the course of an old natural ravinethe Lloixa ravine, diverted over time, but when it rains it floods, dragging remains of trees to the access to the monastery that block the street drains and make the evacuation of water difficult. “In other rains we have had water enter. We believe that over time actions will have to be taken so that the Santa Faz does not drown,” stated Estadella.
A place marked by nature
He Santa Faz monastery, famous for housing the relic, it is located in an environment that still preserves the memory of that natural channel. The vicar remembers that the door that gives access to the dressing roomby which this Thursday the entry of water was prevented, has historically been one of the most vulnerable points in episodes of heavy rain.
“In an emergency we have to do everything in our power. Especially when water falls and carries remains of trees and leaves,” Estadella added, with gratitude to the neighbors.
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