Authorities in eastern and southern Spain have closed schools and begun evacuating some residents as the country is pounded by further torrential rains two weeks after the catastrophic floods that killed at least 215 people and unleashed a bitter political blame game.
By Wednesday morning, the state meteorological agency, Aemet, had put large parts of eastern and southern Spain on amber alert and issued the highest level of warning for the provinces of Tarragona in Catalonia and Málaga in Andalucía.
The Andalucían government closed schools in the provinces of Málaga and Granada, and 3,000 people were evacuated from neighbourhoods near the Guadalhorce river, which runs through Málaga province. The authorities in Catalonia called on people to take “maximum care”, while Valencia’s regional government – which has been criticised for its handling of the disaster – advised councils in affected areas to close schools and to recommend that people worked from home.
“We’re closely monitoring the new arrival of intense rains that have reached our country as the consequence of a new isolated depression at high levels,” said Rubén del Campo, an Aemet spoksesperson.
“There could be torrential rains on Wednesday in Mediterranean areas, especially in the provinces of Tarragona and Málaga, where red warnings have been issued, which mean the danger is extreme. Those areas could see more than 180 litres of water a square metre fall in fewer than 12 hours. But there could be very intense storms that could bring floods, so be very careful.”
Del Campo also said that yellow and amber alerts were in force for many parts of Valencia that are still recovering from the deadly floods on 29 October. The weather warnings are expected to remain in force until at least Friday.
While the current storm is not expected to be as powerful as the last one, the impact of the rains could be severe because of the huge quantities of mud already on the ground and the compromised condition of the sewage system.
Almost 20,000 military personnel and police officers are still engaged in the clean-up operation in Valencia, which was the region hit hardest by the floods a fortnight ago.
The town council of Chiva, one of the worst-hit sites, cancelled classes and sports activities, while in nearby Aldaia, workers piled up sandbags to protect the town.
“We are placing sandbags to replace the floodgates that the previous floods tore down,” Antonio Ojeda, a municipal worker, told Reuters. He said the idea was to prevent the Saleta ravine, which runs through the town, from overflowing again.
The search continues for the bodies of the 23 people still missing after the October floods. On Wednesday morning, emergency workers recovered the bodies of two young brothers who were carried away by the waters in the Valencian town of Torrent. Rubén Matías Calatayud, who was three, and Izan Matías Calatayud, who was five, were swept out of their father’s arms.
The floods, which are the worst natural disaster in Spain’s recent history, have led to confrontations between the regional and local authorities, as well as a huge protest over the weekend.
Growing public anger over the authorities’ handling of the emergency brought 130,000 people on to the streets of the city of Valencia on Saturday evening to call for the resignation of the regional president, Carlos Mazón, who is overseeing the relief effort.
Mazón, a member of the conservative People’s party (PP), is under mounting pressure after it emerged he had a three-hour lunch with a journalist on 29 October, the day the torrential rains hit the region, and did not arrive at the emergency command centre until 7.30pm that evening.
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Much of the anger also stems from the fact that Mazón’s administration waited almost 14 hours before sending emergency civil protection messages to people’s mobile phones on 29 October, despite the series of weather warning issued by Aemet early that morning and the previous evening.
Mazón himself has tried to blame Spain’s socialist-led government, and even the armed forces’ military emergencies unit (UME), whose personnel have been deployed to the region in huge numbers.
The PP, meanwhile, is attempting to point the finger at Spain’s environment minister, Teresa Ribera, who has been designated as the European Commission’s executive vice-president for the clean, just and competitive transition. The party used her EU confirmation hearing in Brussels on Tuesday to accuse her of failing in her duties as a minister.
“This test is totally unnecessary,” said Dolors Monserrat, the PP’s European parliament spokesperson. “Two weeks ago, you were subjected to the test of your life in Valencia … You are responsible for the prevention, preparation and response on climate disasters and that’s why I’m sure that history – and perhaps judges – will judge you for your inaction and your incompetence.”
Ribera replied that the central government had fulfilled its responsibilities when it came to sounding the alert – Aemet falls under the control of her ministry – and had offered help in responding to the emergency, which remains under the control of Mazón’s administration. She also pointed out that many local authorities in Valencia had heeded the Aemet warning and taken appropriate action such as closing schools on 29 October.
“It might be good to think about how undermining the credibility of the meteorological agency, and not taking seriously the risk warnings that were sent, may have catastrophic consequences for the people,” she added.