The rains in Spain did not stay on the plains

are theCatastrophic floodings in south East Spain a result of cloud seeding experiments in Morocco?

It is raining in Southern Spain .

a man watches some cars drifting down river in the Guadalhorce regio in Malaga province

There’s always something to complain about: in summer too hot and dry and now too wet again. However, the rainy weather is good news for the pubs, because no one lounges in the sun and sits on a bench along the street or by the sea, but rather seeks out a pub to sit in the dry and warm the inner man with a glass of wine, coffee or a stiff drink. At my favorite pub, El Patio, the place is buzzing with activity. Several groups of men have gathered around some tables and are discussing noisily. The topic of the day, of course, is the torrential rains that have hit southern Spain. Here in the province of Málaga, too, streets were turned into swirling rivers that dragged cars toward the sea. The water here comes from the Montes de Málaga, the mountains, giving it a destructive speed and dragging everything in its way: besides cars, this often includes trees, wooden vacation homes and -of course- mud. The conversation at the table next to me is about the poor water management of the rivers here: “Because of the hot summers, the junta all too soon forgets to also maintain the dry river beds,” says an old man with a plaid cap on his head. “All the water now flowing into the sea should have been collected in reservoirs, because next summer we will certainly run out of drinking water again. There are simply too few catch basins built and no planning. And the ground cannot swallow so much rain at once, because the dry summer makes the earth look like concrete.” Against my better judgment, I briefly interject myself into the conversation and say : “But surely the rain is also good news for the farmers” the olive trees, avocados and mangoes desperately needed water!” The man looks at me pityingly, slides his cap on the back of his head and sighs at so much naiveté from that foreigner. ” Those trees are all on slopes and now the avocados are standing with their the roots in the water and that is if possible even worse than the drought. An olive tree is much stronger and can take a beating, but the avocados and mangoes, although they like a humid and tropical climate, don't like to stand with their feet in water, then the roots soon rot. You see, my father-in-law just planted 300 young avocado trees on his Finca and they are all washed down the hill now, because their roots had not yet developed. He lost a fortune.”His neighbor, a young forty-something, leans forward and throws some more gasoline on the fire; “ Planting avocados now is also just madness. That tree just needs too much water and half the time there isn't any. The farmers here are blinded by the money the avocados make. And then complain about politics because the desalination plants aren't getting there fast enough. Just to water their plants, while at the same time the people's drinking water is being rationed and cut off!” The man with the cap is now caught off guard. “Ah, politics has no vision and is behind the facts,” he growls. “ behind the facts and behind the women” the forty-something adds, laughing. He is referring to the scandal that just erupted around Iñigo Errejón, the MP and spokesman for the leftist Sumar party, who is being prosecuted for sexual harassment and assault on actress Elisa Mouliaá.A woman sitting at the next table listening in now interjects “ Ah, with this whining about the weather always. Everyone has been walking in processions for months, begging the saints for water, wailing and calling on the virgin of the cave:” que llueva, que llueva, la virgen de la cueva!” And then when it finally rains and your prayers are answered it's no good again!” The old man with the cap now nods vigorously of “yes” and knocks back his glass of sweet wine in a sock. “ Nor is it all new, we have known this phenomenon for decades. Twenty years ago it rained for 9 months straight and the reservoirs threatened to overflow. The problem is not the weather, but the short memory of the policy makers.