Two weeks after the tragic DANA which has so far left 227 dead and 16 missing – torrential rains, overflowing ravines and floods have returned to the Mediterranean coast. The most affected areas yesterday were the provinces of Malaga, with more than 4,000 people evacuated as a preventive measure, and Tarragona, although now the storm has arrived with the population warned.
In fact, the State Meteorological Agency (Aemet). activated late yesterday the red alert for storms on the north and south coasts of Valencia. The warning will be activated until 23.59 hours today, because it could accumulate up to 180 l/m² in a period of 12 hours; the worst was expected for early this morning.
The Emergency Coordination Center (Cecopi) of the Generalitat, meanwhile, informed by means of alert messages to mobile telephones of restrictions on the mobility of private vehicles, suspension of classes, sports activities and day centers in 163 municipalities in the province of Valencia.
In Malaga, the red alert was activated until 08.00 hours today. in the regions of Axarquia, Sol and Guadalhorce; in Antequera and in the Cuenca del Genil the orange alert was maintained. Classes will continue to be suspended in schools throughout the province of Malaga and the Genil basin, the Granada coast and Granada capital, a measure that has been extended to the affected municipalities of Cadiz, Seville and Huelva.
Precisely, it was in the province of Malaga where the new DANA was most severe yesterday. There, more than 4,000 people were evacuated from areas susceptible to flooding and rivers such as the Benamargosa overflowed their banks. Almost all hospitals in the most affected areas were closed, except for emergency rooms, and judicial activity was suspended. More than 350,000 students were unable to attend classes.
In mid-afternoon, the overflowing of another river, the Vélez, forced the eviction of two campsites and a shantytown in Torre del Mar.which has affected at least 1,000 people. Sources of the Junta de Andalucía confirmed that there was no rupture of the Comares dam, located in the interior of this region of the Axarquia, as some reports had pointed out.
But the fury of this new cold drop did not stop there. The storm discharged up to 140 liters per square meter in the capital of Malaga. and some points of the Axarquia as the town of Alfarnatejo. All this led to the suspension of the high-speed rail service connecting Malaga with Madrid and Barcelona, also the Cercanías and connections between Andalusian provinces. In view of this situation, air travel was also cancelled and several roads were affected by the floods.
Among the most striking images of the day, which also left hail, were. the complete destruction of a petrol station in Mijas by a tornado, which swept away the terrace and the laundry room and caused damage to some houses; three marine sleeves also crossed the coasts of Marbella.
In total, Emergencias 112 Andalucía attended to about 1,000 incidents throughout Andalusia.most of them in the capital, which was flooded, including the Hospital Cínico, which had to paralyze all its activity.
According to data from the Hidrosur network, dependent on the Junta de Andalucía, until 17.00 hours yesterday 144.5 liters had been counted in Santón Pitar, located in Los Montes de Málaga, and a similar amount (144.2 liters) in Alfarnatejo. In addition, in the capital of Malaga 140 liters were collectedas well as in other parts of the Axarquia region, and almost 120 liters in the town of Coin, belonging to the Guadalhorce Valley.
On the other hand, at least one hundred municipalities in the province of Granada.some of them bordering with Malaga, had to cancel school activities and the City Council of the capital requested the teleworking of non-essential jobs, while ordering the closure of parks, a special device of the Local Police and places of shelter for the homeless.
Due to weather conditions, Adif was also forced to suspend rail traffic on the Valencia-Barcelona line between the stations of Castelló de la Plana and Cambrils. At the last minute, in addition, the Minister of Transport, Óscar Puente, announced the suspension of all high-speed trains between Madrid and Valencia, whose resumption was scheduled for today.
The damage to the track forced the rail infrastructure manager to suspend the activity on October 30, the day after the heavy downpours that flooded several towns in the southeast of Valencia.
The Generalitat de Catalunya, on the other hand.downgraded for today the warnings for heavy rain in Tarragonaalthough asked to exercise extreme caution in certain points, although the affected regions in the province – Tarragonès, Montsià, Baix Ebre, Ribera d’Ebre and Baix Camp – are expected to recover normal mobility and classes will resume. Yesterday there were no significant incidents in any of them, beyond the traffic.
13 very significant roads were affectedsuch as the AP-7, which suffered traffic jams. There were incidents in three of the Rodalies and Regional lines that circulate through the province and the circulation of the Valencia-Barcelona railway line between Castellón de la Plana and Cambrils was paralyzed. School classes were also suspended in 439 centers and the Government recommended teleworking; most businesses did not open their doors. Aemet has issued a yellow warning for rain today.