Spain evacuated thousands of residents on Wednesday as torrential rains and storms struck, just two weeks after flash floods in Valencia and other parts of Spain killed more than 200 people, wreaking devastation across the country.
National weather office AEMET warned of “very heavy torrential rain and showers” with the provinces of Malaga, Granada, northern Castellon and southern Tarragona under threat, while the coast of Valencia is also on alert.
AEMET issued red alerts, its highest level, for Tarragona, Malaga and Valencia, saying it expected these provinces to receive as much as 180 millimeters (7.1 inches) of rain within the next 12 hours.
Rains expected to continue until Friday
An orange alert was issued for Thursday for the southern province of Granada, where between 40 and 120 mm (1.6 to 4.7 inches) of rain were projected to fall.
The strong rains are forecast to last until Friday.
Emergency services in Malaga said more than 1,000 homes and almost 3,000 residents had been evacuated.
Footage on social media showed the city of Malaga’s normally bustling commercial center deserted and cars struggling through rising water.
Malaga ‘paralyzed’
The start of the Billie Jean King Cup tennis finals between Spain and Poland was postponed while Malaga Airport, the fourth busiest in Spain, saw 15 flights cancelled and diverted five others, operator Aena posted on X. Local television images showed the airport’s entrance had been flooded.
“Today Malaga is paralyzed… if there is intense rain in a short period of time, there are no capacities or infrastructure that can cope,” Andalusia’s President Juanma Moreno told reporters.
On Monday, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced an additional aid package of €3.76 billion ($4 billion) to reinforce €10.6 billion in flood aid pledged last week after devastating storms devastated the country at the end of October.
Those flash floods, the deadliest in modern Spanish history, occurred in different parts of the country, most notably in the eastern Valencia region.
jsi/jcg (AFP, Reuters)