Severe weather warnings lifted in Malaga province after a night of torrential downpours | Sur in English

The Costa del Sol began this Thursday without weather warnings in force after the red alert was lifted at 8am. Around the province more than 4,200 people spent the night away from their homes having been evacuated due to flooding or threat of rivers overflowing, especially in the case of the Benamargosa river, which was completely out of control, and the Guadalhorce, in Bobadilla. Meanwhile during the night there was significant heavy rain at several points on the western Costa del Sol and the Guadalhorce reservoirs, among other points.

Among the most significant incidents of Wednesday night was a storm of very small hailstones that hit the centre of Marbella at around 4am (30mm, according to weather centre Aemet); and at the same time in Ojén a downpour left 51mm in one hour, according to the information provided by the Junta’s Hidrosur Network.

The Guadalteba river also received a downpour of almost 18mm in just a few minutes, all of which will flow directly into the Guadalteba reservoir over the course of the next few hours.

Residents in Malaga city have not been without incident either. Between 3am and 4am more than 15mm fell in the city centre (rain gauge at Paseo de La Farola); 8 in El Limonero and 7 in El Atabal.

Lightning strikes have also caused incidents. At around 1.30am one of struck a wooden house in La Encina, in La Viñuela, and caused a fire which was extinguished by the Vélez-Málaga branch of the provincial fire brigade consortium.

No more danger warnings in place

At eight o’clock on Thursday morning the red weather alert was deactivated in the city, the Costa del Sol, the Guadalhorce and Axarquía. There was just a yellow warning in Ronda for possible downpours of 20mm in an hour and 60 during the morning.

But this does not mean that it will stop raining. The forecast for Thursday is that showers could continue, although more likely on the westernmost Costa (Marbella and Estepona area) and, as mentioned above, in Ronda and the Serranía. On the eastern Costa they will be lighter and more sporadic.

On Wednesday, the rivers Campanillas, Guadalmedina, Vélez and Benamargosa were causing problems. In the case of the Campanillas on the outskirts of the city, more residents were evacuated because it seemed certain that it would overflow. The neighbourhood was saved literally at the last centimetre, once again. At seven o’clock in the morning it had gone down to 72 centimetres and was again approaching a safer yellow level.

The Benamargosa river, in the hamlet of Salto del Negro, is less in control. On Thursday morning is was back to the red alert level it left late on Wednesday. It was no less than six metres deep, a new all-time high, with peaks of 763,000 litres flowing per second at seven o’clock this morning.

The Guadalhorce river was also been on an amber alert for several hours during the night in Bobadilla. At four o’clock in the morning it was flowing at an intense 47,000 litres per second and was more than three metres deep. At six o’clock the alert was lifted and by seven o’clock the level was dropping.

On Wednesday the river Guadalmedina overflowed its banks, but upstream of the Limonero reservoir, in Casabermeja, proving the effectiveness of the dam to contain heavy flooding. In Los Alcaide, the access bridge was cut off due to the swell of the river, but the situation was kept under control, apart from the damage to roads, paths and infrastructure.

In Vélez, almost a thousand people were evacuated due to the overflowing of the river near its mouth. Most of those affected were staying at the Almanat and Laguna campsites in Almayate and Torre del Mar and about a hundred live in Las Casillas de la Vía.

Overnight rain and runoffs have also served to leave the reservoir reserves in the province at 160 cubic hectometres. It is more than likely that with the run-off over the next few weeks they will equal or exceed the level they reached after the heavy rains of March in general and Easter week in particular (170.92 hectometres). They are at more than 26% of their capacity, according to the latest data published by Hidrosur’s SAIH system. They have gained 16 cubic hectometres in just 24 hours. This is the equivalent of the annual consumption of 240,000 inhabitants. In total, the reserves stored would provide the annual urban supply to the Costa del Sol, Malaga and Axarquía combined. The most spectacular increase has been recorded at La Viñuela, with 8 hm3 of gain. This is enough water for more than four months in the district.