Malaga flooding latest: Severe rain alerts as homes ‘decimated’ after month’s worth of rainfall hits in hours
Thousands evacuated in Malaga as powerful storm hits Spain just weeks after deadly flash floods
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Your support makes all the difference.Severe weather alerts have been issued and thousands evacuated as a powerful storm brings a month’s worth of rain and high winds to Spain just weeks after deadly flash floods hit the country.
While a red alert in Valencia was lifted on Thursday morning after more than 100mm of rain fell in some areas, warnings remained in place. Dozens of emergency callouts were reported overnight, mostly in areas worst-hit by the previous floods, which killed more than 200 people.
Although the fresh rains appear to have brought limited damage, in the Malaga province, homes were “decimated” by flooding after a river burst its banks on Wednesday in the town of Benamargosa, as around 3,000 people living along the Guadalhorce River and reportedly a further 1,100 near the Vélez River were evacuated.
The city of Malaga’s main hospital was forced to limit services to emergencies only after becoming flooded.
The Costa del Sol, including popular tourist destinations like Marbella, Estepona, and Vélez, is bearing the brunt of the extreme weather phenomenon known as a “Dana”.
Orange weather alerts clustered in Spain’s southwest
Here is the weather alert map as things stand.
The orange alerts issued by Aemet are concentrated in Spain’s southwest – covering Seville, Huelva, Andévalo and Condado, Aracena, Cadiz, Narrow and Grazalema.
Around 4,000 people still kept from homes after torrential rains
Emergency services in Malaga have kept almost 4,000 people who were evacuated because of a flood risk out of their homes today, the Associated Press reports.
People living along the Guadalhorce River and a further 1,100 near the Vélez River were evacuated as the rains hit on Wednesday.
Hundreds spend night in emergency shelter in Vélez-Málaga
More than 280 people slept last night in a temporary shelter set up by the Spanish Red Cross in Vélez-Málaga as the region was lashed with rain and thousands evacuated.
Mapped: Where are severe weather alerts in force in Spain as thousands evacuated from floods?
While yesterday’s red weather alerts were downgraded on Thursday morning, severe rain warnings remained in force across swathes of the country.
Read more details here:
Mapped: Where are severe weather alerts in force in Spain?
Residents have reported ‘decimated’ homes after a month’s worth of rainfall fell in some areas
Events parallel to Seville European Film Festival cancelled
Some events running parallel to the Seville European Film Festival have been postponed, according to local outlet ABC, as the city is subject to an orange weather alert.
Mayor José Luis Sanz was due to be presenting an award to the actor Jeremy Irons as part of the festival, but will no longer be attending the event.
The annual festival has been held each year since 2004.
Granada airport records highest ever daily rainfall total
As the storm hit Andalusia yesterday, Granada Airport registered a record daily rainfall total of 86.2mm, Europa Press reported.
‘Seville is prepared,’ says mayor
Schools and universities have been closed in Seville, although public transport continues to run normally in the popular tourist destination, according to local outlet ABC.
With heavy rain filmed falling in the city, which is subject to an orange weather alert, mayor José Luis Sanz has sought to reassure residents that “Seville is prepared” and has nearly 1,900 troops available to help if needed.
Madrid-Valencia train line reopens after storm closure
Spain’s state-owned rail operator Renfe has reopened the line from Madrid to Valencia after it was closed as a result of the storm.
Transport minister Oscar Puente shared footage of the first train departing from Madrid on Thursday, and said that in addition to passengers it was also carrying 250 pressure washers to help with the clean-up effort in Valencia.
What is Spain’s weather service forecasting?
Here is the general forecast issued by Spain’s national weather service Aemet:
“The DANA is expected to transition into an isolated cold low that will be located in the southwest of the Peninsula, affecting almost the entire country.
“Precipitation is expected in the southwest quadrant of the Peninsula, areas of the northwest, southeast, Levante, Pitiusas and the Canary Islands, without ruling out surrounding areas.
“These precipitations will be locally very strong and persistent on the coasts of Valencia and Alicante, as well as in western Andalusia, and strong in surrounding areas, south of Extremadura and south of the Central system. In areas where these intensities are reached, they will be accompanied by storms.”
What caused the devastating flash flooding in Spain?
Spain is known to be particularly vulnerable to torrential autumn downpours, caused by a weather phenomenon known as the “cold drop” – or DANA, an acronym for Depresion Aislada en Niveles Altos.
However, the destructive weather system is believed to be worsening in the wake of climate change, accumulating in the flash flooding being the worst the region has seen in three decades.
My colleague Athena Stavrou has more details in this explainer:
What caused the devastating flash flooding in Spain?
Spain’s meteorological agency, said Valencia had seen ‘the most adverse cold drop of the century’ prior to the floods
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