by Allison Chinchar, Caitlin Danaher, Mia Alberti and Pau Mosquera
Severe thunderstorms and torrential rain have again battered coastal Spain, causing thousands of people to be evacuated just two weeks after the country experienced deadly flooding in Valencia and other nearby communities.
Over 4,000 people and a thousand homes have been evacuated in the Malaga area, according to a Thursday update from Antonio Sanz, the director of the Emergency Plan for the Risk of Flooding in Andalucia.
Five areas near the Guadalhorce riverbank were preemptively evacuated due to the risk of overflowing.
In just one hour, nearly a month’s worth of rainfall inundated the city of Malaga, in Spain’s Andalusia region, according to the country’s meteorological agency AEMet. The southern Spanish province picked up roughly 100 millimeters (4 inches) of rain so far on Wednesday, 78 millimeters (3 inches) of which fell within an hour. Malaga normally averages 100.5 millimeters in the month of November.
The Spanish meteorological agency has issued red warnings in the Andalusia and Catalonia regions for extreme rainfall with reports of impassable roads and flooded basements in several towns.
Video from the scene shows streets in Malaga submerged in water.
The Malaga City Council issued evacuation orders Wednesday near the Campanillas River due to the risk of overflowing.
The Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility has also announced they have suspended the Malaga-Madrid rail service due to the accumulation of water on the tracks.
The severe weather alert in Malaga led to the postponement of the opening round tie of the Billie Jean King Cup, which was due to take place Wednesday evening between Spain and Poland.
More rain on the way
Heavy rain is set to continue through the evening from the provinces of Malaga and Granada up to Valencia and Tarragona where up to 180 millimeters (7 inches) is possible.
Authorities announced schools will be closed on Thursday across the entire province of Malaga, as well as areas issued with an orange warning for rain, including the municipalities of Seville, Cadiz, and Huelva.
The coastal area of Valencia province has now been issued a red weather warning for Thursday. Spain’s Minister for Transport Oscar Puente announced the closure of all non-essential movement on Valencia’s roads at 6 p.m. local time (12 p.m. ET) on Wednesday.
The City Council of Valencia announced that school activities are suspended throughout Valencia city and its districts this Wednesday and Thursday to avoid risks.
The country is still reeling from historic floods that killed more than 220 people just two weeks ago, its worst deluge in decades.
Last weekend, protesters marched in Valencia demanding the regional president Carlos Mazon’s resignation for the slow response to the deadly natural disaster.
*first published in: Cnn.com
By: N. Peter Kramer
