IN MADRID – Homes were evacuated, classes suspended and people warned not to put their lives at risk as Malaga and Tarragona as Spain braced for more violent storms on Wednesday.
Spain’s state weather forecaster Aemet issued a red alert, the highest level, for Malaga and Tarragona on its Mediterranean coast.
Authorities warned people to stay inside and to protect themselves. Video circulating online showed heavy rainfall gushing through the streets in Malaga.
Classes were suspended in the city and all non-urgent medical appointments cancelled in Catalonia ahead of the rains, which are expected to last until the weekend.
Three thousand people were moved out of their homes as a precautionary measure in Malaga and its surrounding villages.
In the town of Benalmadena, a town on the Costa del Sol that is popular with British expatriates, a wall collapsed in the rains and forced the evacuation of 15 people.
In Tarragona, thousands of motorists were trapped on the AP7 motorway after police carried out roadblocks as the rain approached.
Schools were closed and sand banks placed near rivers as floods devastated Valencia.
Aemet issued an orange alert, the second-highest, for downpours from Wednesday in parts of Valencia and the Balearic Islands.
The alert comes about two weeks after flash flooding caused one of Europe’s worst natural disasters in decades, which killed 223 people.
Rescuers found the bodies of two brothers, Ruben, 3, and Izan, 5, who were ripped from the arms of their father and carried away in the floods.
The family lived in Torrent, Valencia, but their bodies were found 10 kilometres away.
Councils in Valencia have suspended school classes and closed public gyms because of the threat of more rain.
Sandbags were placed in Aldaia, one of the worst affected areas by the Valencian flooding, in case the nearby river overflows in the torrential rains.
In Chiva, another badly affected area, the council posted on the social media: “In response to the information provided by the emergency services, school and sports activities will be suspended from tomorrow until further notice.”
Military vehicles drove through towns in Valencia using megaphones to warn of the expected storms and urging people not to make “unnecessary trips”.
While the amount of rain that is forecast to fall in Valencia is less than what fell two weeks ago, authorities were rushing to clear sewage systems which could be clogged by more heavy rains.
Anger in Valencia over the perceived mismanagement before and after the floods prompted a huge demonstration in Valencia on Saturday, which drew 130,000 people.
With the threat of more heavy rains, town councils in the stricken city were anxious to protect residents.
Oscar Puente, the Spanish Transport Minister, warned people to follow public advice.
“If you are cautious, you could save your life,” he told reporters.
Barcelona, Girona and Murcia in southeastern Spain were also warned to expect prolonged rainfall into Thursday.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who is attending the COP29 climate change conference in Azerbaijan, made reference to the disaster in Valencia.
“It is not an isolated incident. Climate change kills. We have to act,” he said.