A true weather crisis erupted in the south of Tarragona in the evening: due to heavy rains brought by Cyclone Alice, a state of emergency was declared in five districts at once. Authorities decided to suspend school classes and temporarily close centers for the elderly and vulnerable citizens. Daily life in the municipalities of Montsià, Baix Ebre, Ribera d’Ebre, Baix Camp, and Terra Alta was completely disrupted.
Raging water swept away everything in its path: city streets turned into raging rivers, and in La Ràpita, water levels in some areas reached up to one and a half meters. Cars, garbage bins, and even parts of the urban infrastructure were caught in the current. Basements and parking lots were flooded, and residents hurriedly left their homes.
In Montsià, on the Ebro delta, around 500 people were accommodated in sports halls and other municipal buildings. For many, the night had to be spent away from home: in Amposta alone, more than two hundred people stayed in a specially prepared shelter after traffic on the AP-7 and N-340 highways became impossible due to the storm.
The situation remains tense: the south of Tarragona is under an orange weather alert, with rainfall reaching 40 liters per square meter per hour. Warnings of possible emergencies have also been issued in Catalonia, the Valencian Community, and the Balearic Islands. Other regions, including Aragón, Castilla-La Mancha, Navarra, and La Rioja, are also facing the threat of heavy rains and storms.
Emergency services received nearly two thousand calls overnight, most of them from Montsià. Nearly fifteen hundred cases were opened based on citizen reports. Rail service between Ulldecona and L’Aldea was disrupted, affecting 17 trains and more than three thousand passengers. Service is expected to resume by midday.
Firefighters responded to 340 calls overnight, including 31 rescues of people trapped in vehicles or on roads. Fortunately, there were no casualties. Some road sections have been partially reopened, but several routes remain closed. On the AP-7, only one direction is open, while the N-340, C-12, TV-3408, and TV-3317 remain inaccessible to traffic.
Catalonia’s head of government, Salvador Illa, expressed support for those affected and urged residents not to leave their homes unless necessary, to work remotely if possible, and to closely follow rescue service recommendations.
Meteorologists warn that unstable weather may spread to the country’s interior and persist in eastern Spain. More heavy rain and storms are expected in the coming days, especially in Catalonia, Valencia, and the Balearic Islands.
