Southeastern Spain on Friday experienced its second day of torrential rain which already led to floods in Alicante and Murcia on Thursday, causing evacuations, road closures, and communication problems.
Eastern Spain is enduring a second day of very heavy rain that’s already left areas loved by tourists looking like natural disaster zones.
Multiple videos have been posted online showing flooded streets, ravines turned into rivers and vehicles with water up to the windows.
Numerous municipalities in Alicante saw more than 100 litres of rain per square metre fall on Thursday, and much more precipitation is expected for the coming hours.
Most red weather alerts will remain in place until midnight on Friday. Many residents and holidaymakers in this part of Spain have been receiving SMS warnings to their phones from the government’s ES-Alert system alerting them of incoming downpours.
A 20-minute downpour in Elche flooded streets and swept away cars and rubbish containers.
Other parts of Alicante with large foreign populations such as Vega Baja, Torrevieja and Orihuela have also been hit by more than 60 litres of rain/sqm.
Alcàsser, Gandía and Cullera were among the worst hit towns in the neighbouring Valencia province, which wasn’t spared either.
These are the second floods in the Valencia region in less than two weeks, as there were similar scenes last week after Storm Gabrielle (a former hurricane turned storm) swept past. The Balearic Islands, Ibiza especially, were badly hit.
Advertisement
As of Friday October 10th at 4pm, there are red weather warnings in southern Alicante and Cartagena, orange warnings in the province of Valencia, and orange warnings in inland Murcia.
READ ALSO: What do Spain’s orange and red weather alerts mean for the public?
Cartagena City Council has estimated that 67 people have been evacuated so far due to the rainfall, most of them from the Villas Caravaning campsite in La Manga and the Bahía Bella and Algameca Chica areas.
Since 10am on Friday, the southern coast of Alicante and Campo de Cartagena in Murcia have been under a red weather alert, with national weather agency Aemet warning of the “extraordinary” danger of floods.
Storm Alice has already caused road closures, delays to commuter trains, and dozens of more incidents, although fortunately no casualties have been reported yet.
School classes have been suspended in several towns and cities in the two regions: Valencia and Murcia.
There are also orange warnings on the coast and inland of the province of Valencia and in the Vega del Segura (Murcia Region), due to torrential rains and accumulated rainfall of more than 100 litres per square metre.
Murcian regional president Fernando López Miras has asked the population “not to relax or become complacent” in light of the red alert, which will remain in effect until Saturday in Cartagena, the Mar Menor area, and Mazarrón.
“Everyone’s caution and responsibility are very important. Don’t leave your home, don’t travel by car, and don’t do any type of movement that isn’t strictly necessary,” López Miras urged from the Cartagena security centre.
The Murcian leader has asked the public to monitor information published through official channels and has assured locals that all emergency services, both municipal and regional, “are prepared.”
