Six people died as DANA Adam swept through Spain’s Mediterranean communities during an October marked by several episodes of torrential rain. Named by Spain’s State Meteorological Agency (AEMET) on 16 October 2026, Adam was the first named DANA of the 2026-27 season and affected the coast from 17 October, with impacts reported in Valencia and Alicante, Barcelona and Málaga, as well as Almería and the Balearic Islands. AEMET issued its highest, red-level warnings in Almería on 17 October and in Alicante and the Balearic Islands, as well as Valencia, on 18-19 October. The reported deaths were in Barcelona and Sagunto, in Oliva and Málaga, and on Menorca, including two victims in Oliva. The Civil Guard later identified the Menorca victim as a 75-year-old Ciutadella resident. In Alicante province, Pego recorded 633 litres of rain per square metre, approximately equivalent to a typical year’s rainfall for the area. Andalucía recorded 591 storm-related incidents on 17 and 18 October, and emergency plans were activated in 26 municipalities, including 13 in Almería.
Alongside the storm damage, forecasts described generally mild daytime temperatures and the possibility of further rain as weather patterns shifted. By 21 October, Adam’s intense-rain episode had passed Mallorca, where AEMET forecast improving weather and limited precipitation over the following days; further rain had been possible in the Balearics on 24 October. On 26 October, AEMET forecast that another DANA could affect the Mediterranean and the Valencian Community at the beginning of November. Those forecasts were tied to the final week of October and the start of November, so they should not be read as current conditions.
The report’s account of autumn also sits alongside coverage of sleep problems in Spain, a separate issue from the damage caused by the storms.
