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”.
How Spain’s ‘catastrophic’ floods led to over 200 deaths
The latest storm comes on the back of Spain’s worst floods in recent memory, which left at least 217 people dead, submerged towns, toppled bridges and cut entire communities off from the outside world.
My colleague Stuti Mishra has more details on why the floods proved so dangerous:
How Spain’s ‘catastrophic’ floods led to over 200 deaths - explained through pictures
Floods left cars piled up like toys in streets, swallowed homes, and covered entire neighbourhoods in sludge as authorities report 217 fatalities
Pictured: Clean-up continues in Valencian municipality as streets choked with mud
Police, military and volunteers are continuing with cleaning operations in the flood-hit Valencian municipality of Paiporta.
City authorities activate emergency plans in Huelva
A coastal city close to Spain’s border with Portugal activated its emergency plan on Thursday afternoon after orange weather alerts were issued in the area.
Under the plans put in force by Huelva City Council, all public parks, municipal buildings and sports facilities were closed, while municipal workers were told to work remotely where possible, Spanish news agency EFE reported.
Citizens in the city were urged to take “maximum precaution”.
Watch: Spain's king vows to give 'hope' after angry residents throw mud on his visit to Valencia town
‘Only objective’ is to minimise damage and avoid human losses, warns Andalusian president
The “only objective” for authorities in Andalusia during this storm is to “minimise the damage and especially avoid human losses”, regional leader Juanma Moreno has said.
But Mr Moreno warned that this “cannot be achieved if there is not maximum collaboration on the part of all citizens”, as he urged “maximum caution”, Europa Press reported.
Water spout forms over sea in Malaga
A water spout was pictured yesterday forming over the sea off the coast of Malaga, while large hailstones were also reported as the city was battered by the storm.
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
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.
Fuengirola lifts state of emergency after flooded streets and fallen trees
Authorities in Fuengirola, Malaga, have lifted the state of emergency put in force in response to the storm this week.
Mayor Ana Mula was quoted by Europa Press as saying: “There have been occasional traffic cuts, due to the amount of water that fell in a short period of time ... where traffic had to be interrupted for a few moments to allow the water to drain away.”
“There have also been some fallen trees on Avenida de Los Boliches, Calle Tejar and the Fairgrounds, but thanks to the responsibility and collaboration of the people of Fuengirola, everything has worked relatively well, taking into account the amount of water that fell in a very short time,” Ms Mula added.
Flights cancelled over Valencia as new storm hit
Out of the 296 commercial flights that were scheduled at Malaga-Costa Del Sol airport on Wednesday, 15 had been cancelled as of 8pm local time, and around five had been diverted, Spain’s airport group, Aena, said.
Aena had asked that anyone flying from Malaga-Costa Del Sol airport and Barcelona’s El Prat Airport on Wednesday check the status of their flight with their airline, as heavy rain and adverse weather were affecting approaches to both airlines.
As of Thursday afternoon, most flights coming into the airport were landing on time, while one Iberia flight coming in from Valencia had been cancelled, along with another to Paris and one to Stockholm. Most of the scheduled departures flying out from Malaga were also undisrupted.
It appears that Valenica’s airport was experiencing disruption, however, with FlightRadar is showing that around 20 flights scheduled to depart on Thursday had been cancelled as of Thursday afternoon.
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