Woman Washed Away as Floods Submerge Spain After Hottest Summer on Record
Torrential rains have caused widespread flooding across Spain, leading to submerged streets, travel disruptions, and the rescue efforts for a woman swept away by rising waters.
Rescuers in Spain are searching for a woman who was swept away by floodwaters in the village of Olivella, approximately 25 miles west of Barcelona. Local news outlets reported that the woman was in a vehicle when she was carried away by a stream. Joan Ramon Cabello, subdirector of prevention for Catalan Civil Protection, stated that she appeared to have attempted to exit the vehicle before being overcome by the water.
This incident occurs as Spain grapples with the aftermath of its hottest summer on record, with torrential downpours now inundating the country's eastern regions, particularly Barcelona and its Mediterranean coast. Streets have been submerged, and travel has been significantly disrupted.
Spain's national weather agency, AEMET, had issued warnings for heavy rainfall in eastern areas, including a rare red alert for Barcelona due to the threat of flash floods. Authorities in Catalonia and the Valencia regions advised residents to avoid non-essential travel and exercise extreme caution. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez warned on social media platform X about potentially "very complicated situations."
Mass telephone alerts were dispatched to residents in affected parts of Catalonia, Valencia, and Almeria, highlighting the severe flood risk. In Barcelona, metro stations were closed, bus services were rerouted, and flights at El Prat airport, the country's second busiest, experienced delays and cancellations. Regional train services were also affected.
Catalan emergency services reported receiving over 850 calls related to the downpours, which resulted in more than 500 separate incidents. In the neighboring Valencia region, the weather monitor Avamet recorded over 70 millimeters of rain in a single half-hour period in several municipalities. The agency described these accumulations as rare for such a short duration.
Across Valencia, 478 weather-related incidents were logged, primarily involving property damage, leaks, and traffic obstructions. All metro lines in the city of Valencia were suspended, and its airport was temporarily closed, causing 12 flights to be diverted. A top-flight football match between Levante and Athletic Bilbao was also postponed due to the waterlogged pitch and flooding in the stadium's tunnel.
Further south, over 20 municipalities in Almeria and the southeastern region of Murcia suspended school classes on Thursday as a precautionary measure.