This past weekend, residents of southeastern Spain faced a real ordeal as cyclone DANA Alice brought torrential rains that, in just a few hours, turned streets into raging streams. The cities of Murcia and Alicante were hit especially hard, with floodwaters breaching riverbanks and inundating entire neighborhoods.
In Los Alcázares (Murcia), municipal crews were forced to work nonstop to pump water from roads and sidewalks. In the area around the Albujón riverbed (rambla del Albujón), water broke through natural barriers and surged onto adjacent lands, including a section of the A-7 highway. This led to major traffic jams and infrastructure damage, leaving local residents cut off from their usual routes.
Once the downpour subsided, municipal workers began clearing streets of the mud and debris brought in by the waters. In some parts of Murcia, such as Beniaján (Beniaján), huge puddles formed on the roads, and traffic was almost at a standstill. Drivers struggled to navigate the changed conditions, and some vehicles became stranded in the middle of flooded streets.
In the province of Alicante, in the municipality of Algorfa (Algorfa), the situation was also tense. One driver tried to cross a flooded road, only for his vehicle to become trapped in the water. Similar scenes have come to symbolize the scale of the disaster brought by DANA Alice in recent days.
The full extent of the damage is yet to be assessed, but it is already clear that the impact on infrastructure and private homes is significant. Local authorities are urging residents to remain cautious and not to attempt crossing flooded areas on their own. In the coming days, utility services will continue efforts to eliminate the consequences of the disaster.
