Madrid, Spain

At least three people have died and three others were missing after heavy rains lashed Spain and triggered flash floods, said officials on Monday (September 4). The floods have prompted the closure of roads, subway lines, and high-speed train connections. 

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Spain floods after sudden downpour

Spain witnessed a sudden downpour due to a storm over the weekend that has affected almost the entire country, with the heaviest rains recorded on Sunday (Sep 3) in the coastal provinces of Cadiz, Tarragona and Castello, said the country’s weather service AEMET. 

At least three people died around the central city of Toledo, some 50 kilometres southwest of Madrid, which according to AEMET, received a record rainfall of 90 litres per square metre on Sunday. 

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Emergency services deployed helicopters to rescue people who had sought refuge on the roofs of their homes in Toledo. The police said one of the victims, a young man, was trapped in a lift that filled up with water, while another was inside a vehicle when it got flooded, reported Reuters. 

Additionally, the body of a 50-year-old man, who was reported to be missing, was found floating in a river near his home in the town of Camarena, also in the province of Toledo. 

About those missing

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Emergency services in the Madrid region said that they dealt with at least 1,200 incidents overnight, adding that the firefighters and police were searching for one man in the rural area of Aldea del Fresno. 

The man went missing with his 10-year-old son when their car was dragged into the Alberche River after a sudden rise in water level, Madrid’s emergency services, Javier Chivite, told public television RTVE.

“The minor was rescued after he had climbed up a tree,” said the Madrid emergency service. They had also rescued the boy’s mother and sister earlier in the day. “The poor boy spent the night perched in a tree,” said the head of the regional government of Madrid, Isabel Diaz Ayuso. 

Reports citing officials also said that the police are looking for an 83-year-old man who was swept away by floodwaters in the neighbouring town of Villamanta and a woman who went missing in the town of Valmojado in Toledo. 

‘Weatherman’s woe’

As per Reuters, rains continued on early Monday which transformed streets into rivers of mud that swept away cars and trash bins in Madrid, Castile-La Mancha, Catalonia, and Valencia regions. 

In an update on Monday, AEMET said the cut-off low phenomenon – also known as weatherman’s woe – which caused the downpour is starting to move away from the country. 

Residents of the Madrid region received an emergency text in Spanish and English accompanied by a loud alarm, on Sunday, asking them not to use their vehicles and stay at home due to “extreme risk of storms”. It was the first time that officials had used this mobile phone alert system. 

(With inputs from agencies) 

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