Between the afternoon and evening of Monday, 19 January, a strong hailstorm in the province of Almeria caused serious damage, especially to the greenhouse facilities of San Agustín in El Ejido, in La Mojonera, and in Roquetas de Mar, to a lesser extent. These are the areas producing the most greenhouse vegetables in Almeria.

Since early in the morning, both the Provincial Secretary and COAG's Organization's Secretary, José Antonio Moreno, visited the areas affected to assess the damage and talk with producers, urging them to fill in the damage reports in order to apply for tax relief.

"We have visited about 20 greenhouse facilities with an average of 2 hectares which have been fully destroyed, as well as about 450 hectares that are flooded," said the secretary in his early estimates.

"It's a major loss, both in terms of crops with campaigns in full swing, and in terms of infrastructure. Hail has been especially harmful to peppers and courgettes, although this is an area with a lot of production and thus many crops are affected," he explains.

The storm has made it necessary to close several roads in the area, where it is possible to see many greenhouses collapsed on the ground.

Source - http://www.freshplaza.com