A flash flood swept away cars in in north-east Spain on Friday, only a week after Spain’s worst rainfall in living memory.
Dramatic footage showed torrential rains turning streets into rivers and sweeping cars away.
The storm hit Cadaqués, in the Catalonian province of Girona, with 32 vechiles washed away by intense flash flooding, despite warnings from authorities urging people to avoid low-lying areas, according to Girona mayor Pia Serinyana.
Many ended up piled on top of each other by a bridge in front of the town casino. Despite the extensive damage, there were no reports of any casualties.
According to Meteocat, there was likely more than four inches of total rainfall. The Catalan weather agency said: “This is how the Cadaques stream goes down after the intense and continuous rain this morning, where there is likely to have been more than 100mm of rainfall.”
Meanwhile, the UK Foreign Office issued travel warnings for regions along Spain’s Mediterranean coast, including Valencia and Castilla-La Mancha, where severe weather continues to disrupt transportation and daily life.
A yellow weather warnings remains in place for Girona for 20mm of rain, according to Spain’s meteorological agency, Aemet.
Cadaques is just over three hundred miles north of Valencia, where more than 200 people lost their lives in what has been described as Spain’s “flood of the century” earlier this week, when an unprecedented deluge struck southern and eastern areas.
The Spanish military has since been deployed to support rescue operations and assist local authorities in recovery efforts, with more than 200 dead following the floods.
The storm was caused by an isolated depression at high altitudes — known as a Dana storm, standing for depresión aislada en niveles altos – or isolated depression at high altitudes.
These severe autumnal storms are not new to Spain, but climate experts attribute the worsening storm patterns to climate change.
The crisis has also drawn criticism from local communities who accuse officials of a delayed response.
Prime minister Pedro Sánchez has mobilised nearly 15,000 personnel, including police, military, forensic teams, and customs agents, to help clear flood-hit areas and restore essential services.