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”.
Red weather alerts lifted in Valencia
Red weather alerts have been lifted in Valencia after initially coming into force at 6pm on Wednesday.
National forecaster Aemet said: “The worst of this second storm has passed.
“We have lowered the warning to orange on the coast of Valencia and raised it to orange on the northern coast of Alicante, where it is now raining heavily on the beaches of Dénia.”
Where has rain been heaviest as new flooding hits Spain?
Over 3,000 people have now been evacuated from Malaga as a powerful storm brings heavy rains to Spain. It comes just weeks after devestating flooding in Valencia, on the country’s east coast, killed over 200 people.
A weather map shows where has been hardest hit by the rain. Malaga can be seen highlighted in red in the South, as some parts of the north east (nearer Barcelona) also see storms.
In pictures: Torrential rain lashes Spain just two weeks after deadly flash floods
Is it safe to travel to Spain and should I cancel my holiday after flooding disaster?
Dozens of flights have been delayed and disrupted after a powerful storm bringing strong winds and heavy rain has barrelled over popular tourist destination Costa del Sol in Spain.
Thousands of residents have been evacuated along the Guadalhorce River west of Malaga due to a high risk of flooding, while hospitals have already been overwhelmed with water as medics have been pictured wading through water in ward corridors.
Spanish airport authorities have asked that those flying out of Malaga’s airport and El Prat Airport in Barcelona to check with their airline before they travel for flight updates.
My colleague Amelia Neath reports:
Is it safe to travel to Spain? Should I cancel my Malaga holiday?
Extreme weather in Spain is back over Malaga as flights and train travel are disrupted due to wind and rain
Mapped: Where are severe weather alerts in force in Spain as thousands evacuated from floods?
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
Finals of Billie Jean King tennis tournament in Malaga cancelled due to heavy rain
The finals of the Billie Jean King tennis tournament in Malaga were cancelled due to the heavy rain.
Pictures show the rain soaked venue, the Martín Carpena pavilion, on Wednesday, with the event postponed to Friday.
Watch: Heavy rain hits Valencia while region still recovering from recent floods
Non-essential activities cancelled and citizens told to work from home
Many municipalities in flood-hit areas have cancelled all non-essential activities, and told citizens to work from home and follow emergency services' updates.
Volunteers have also been asked to suspend clean-up operations and piling up sandbags for extra protection following the devastation of the extreme weather that hit Spain two weeks ago.
The coming storms also obliged the suspension of rescue efforts by teams still searching for missing people off the coast of Valencia, Spain's maritime rescue service said.
Impact of rain in hard-hit Valencia could be severe, warns local official
The impact of the rain could be severe in Valencia after the region was hit hardest by the extreme weather that lashed Spain two weeks ago, a spokesperson for its emergency committee has warned.
Rosa Tauris told reporters on Tuesday this is because of the significant quantities of mud already on the ground and because of the condition of the sewage system in the province.
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