Thousands have been evacuated and a hospital is now only operating in one department after a powerful storm in Spain’s Costa del Sol region brought torrential rain and high winds.
Just two weeks after flash floods killed more than 200 people and destroyed homes, the country once again finds itself battling rising floodwaters following a red weather alert.
In the Malaga province, around 3,000 people living along the Guadalhorce River have been evacuated and the city’s main hospital is now limiting services to emergencies only. Pictures on social media show medics wading through water flowing through the ward’s corridors.
The Costa del Sol, including popular tourist destinations like Marbella, Estepona, and Vélez, is bearing the brunt of the extreme weather phenomenon known as a “Dana”, which will see up to 7.1 inches of rain in some areas within hours.
Flood warnings extend across much of southern Spain, with meteorologists cautioning that rivers could overflow and gusts of up to 74 miles per hour may worsen the situation.
Classes have been suspended in schools in Malaga, Valencia and some municipalities of Catalonia. Spanish weather forecaster Aemet warns of rainfall and storms that could be “very strong to torrential.”
Key points
All train services in Malaga stopped
16:18 , Rachel Hagan
All train services in Malaga province have been halted, including the high speed train between Madrid and Malaga, while Malaga’s train station was evacuated due to flooding, national rail infrastructure operator Adif has said.
Where are the red weather warnings in place?
15:58 , Rachel Hagan
At the time of writing, there are four red weather warnings in place across the country in eastern Tarragona and southern Malaga provinces.
The warning says they can expect to receive as much as 7.1 inches per square metre of heavy to torrential rain within 12 hours which could cause rivers to overflow and generate flash floods.
The warnings are for: – Sun and Guadalhorce, Malaga- Axarquia, Malaga- Tarragona’s southern coast
Anger grows over Valencia chief’s long lunch on day of floods
15:27 , Rachel Hagan
On the day that catastrophic floods devastated Spain‘s Valencia region, which left around 220 people dead, the region’s top official was reportedly at a long lunch until about 6pm, with water already suring suring through towns.
Growing public anger came to a head on Saturday when 130,000 people took to the streets of Valencia and called for Mr Mazon’s resignation. Photos of the protest showed signs saying: “You killed us”, and “Our hands are stained with mud, yours with blood.”Mr Mazon’s office confirmed that he had lunch at a restaurant near the regional government headquarters in Valencia but declined to disclose his dining companion. According to Spanish media, he did not leave the restaurant until 6pm, by which time the town of Utiel was already flooded and the national weather service, Aemet, had issued a red alert. His government’s emergency meeting had started an hour earlier, at 5pm.
Mr Mazon’s conservative people’s party has called on him to explain his movements. He pledged to provide answers when he appears in parliament this week and said on Monday, according to EuroNews, that “mistakes may have been made.”
Bodies of missing Spanish boys found two weeks after flash floods
15:11 , Rachel Hagan
The bodies of two young brothers who went missing in floods that struck Spain’s eastern Valencia region two weeks ago have been found, the Civil Guard confirmed on Wednesday.
Ruben and Izan Matias Calatayud, aged 3 and 5, were found in separate locations near Catarroja, 6 miles downstream from their home in Torrent, a suburb of Valencia city, where they went missing when the floods hit at the end of October.
Their aunt Barbara Sastre told Spain’s state TVE last week that the boys’ mother was working in Valencia and their father was with them at the family home when the flood hit.
“The three of them were dragged out,” she said. Their unnamed father tried to keep hold of them, but they were swept away by the tide of water, state news agency EFE reported.
He survived by grabbing hold of a tree, TVE added.
Sastre told TVE that the wait for news had left the family “destroyed”.
Further hospital closures across the region
14:56 , Rachel Hagan
The Andalusian Government has announced that all health centres in the city of Malaga, Nerja, Torrox, Colmenar, Rincon de la Victoria will be closed that afternoon.
Others in Fuengirola, Torremolinos and Benalmádena will also be closed. Almost all of the centres in the province have already been closed since 3pm.
The Regional Hospital, known as Carlos Haya, has also cancelled all its scheduled activity for the afternoon.
This is all in addition to the flooding that has affected the Virgen de la Victoria University Hospital in Malaga, where they are only providing care in A&E.
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