At least two people have died after torrential rain caused flooding in eastern Spain. Footage shows submerged cars near Alicante as rescue teams evacuate residents and campsite guests in the Valencian Community.
Local authorities in Oliva evacuated around 2,000 people from seven campsites as torrential rain flooded the area. At least two people have died in the flooding, authorities said. Reuters reported that more than 800,000 residents were told to stay indoors as the emergency unfolded.
Footage recorded on Monday, 19 October, showed streets under water and cars submerged in Beniarbeig and Oliva, near Alicante. Storm Adam brought intense rain to eastern Spain, especially coastal areas of Valencia and Alicante. Spain’s weather agency AEMET issued red-level warnings for the southern coast of Valencia and northern Alicante, forecasting up to 200 millimetres of rain in 12 hours and local totals of as much as 300 millimetres in 24 hours. Rainfall rates could reach 60 millimetres in an hour. In areas northwest of Gandia, up to 90 litres per square metre an hour was reported or forecast.
Rescue teams worked to evacuate residents trapped by the flooding. Authorities urged people to stay at home and avoid travel in affected areas. Salvador Llopis, Oliva’s deputy mayor, told TVE that emergency services were rescuing residents, including elderly people trapped in homes where water had risen to waist height. Helicopters were sent to evacuate people from rooftops. Around six municipalities between southern Gandia and Oliva were cut off, and the regional government sent an ES-Alert warning residents not to travel.
AEMET’s red warning remained in force until 09:59 on 19 October, with some areas expected to move to a lower alert level afterwards. The agency also warned of thunderstorms and possible hail. Gusts of up to 70 kilometres per hour were forecast along the Alicante coast. Orange alerts were also in force for Barcelona, Girona and Tarragona, as well as the Balearic islands of Ibiza, Formentera, Mallorca and Menorca.
For regional context, an earlier report on rain alerts covered warnings affecting Alicante and Valencia.
