Spain has placed major east-coast holiday provinces under its highest red weather alert as flash floods tear through streets and officials warn of extraordinary danger.
Spain’s state weather agency Aemet raised its top-tier warning for Valencia, Castellón and Tarragona after torrential storms threatened popular Mediterranean tourism areas with intense rain, large hail, strong winds and flash flooding.
Officials told residents to stay indoors, skip unnecessary travel and keep clear of underpasses and dry riverbeds as muddy water already raced through streets in Catalonia’s Tarragona province, the Daily Mail reported.
Aemet spokesman Rubén del Campo said the danger was “extraordinary,” warning that heavy rain could trigger flash floods when huge volumes of water fall in a short time.
Aemet said more than 90 litres of rain per square metre could fall in a single hour in the hardest-hit zones.
Some areas were expected to take up to 300 litres over 12 hours. That kind of downpour turns streets into channels fast.
Footage and local reports showed muddy floodwater surging through Santa Bàrbara in Tarragona province, with roads running like rivers. Torrential rain also hit Baix Ebre and Montsià counties in southern Tarragona, along with flooded streets in L’Ametlla de Mar, Masdenverge and Freginals.
Dozens of municipalities suspended classes as the storms closed in.
Emergency alerts went out to mobile phones in parts of Valencia. Authorities urged people to watch vulnerable relatives and neighbours, including the elderly, children and those with disabilities.
The red designation is reserved for risk of severe impacts to people and property. Orange alerts also covered parts of Catalonia, Aragon, Castilla-La Mancha and Mallorca.
Forecasters said the immediate storm front would bring the worst conditions on Thursday and Friday across eastern and south-eastern Spain.
Warnings were set to stay in force across large areas into the weekend, with further heavy rain expected in Mediterranean regions and the Balearic Islands. Unsettled weather could stretch into the following week.
A separate weather system known as a DANA, an isolated high-altitude low that can dump intense rain, was expected to develop later in the weekend. Officials said it was too early to pin down its exact severity.
The region had already swung hard. An orange alert landed on Thursday less than 24 hours after temperatures soared to 44C.
In August, Valencia took a battering from thunderstorms that sent tourists scrambling for cover and left restaurant workers chasing furniture swept down the street by floodwater. Forecasters warned the latest round still had its worst ahead.
Holiday calendars do not control the weather. When the alert hits red, the only smart move is to get inside and stay there.
