Torrential rain has caused widespread flooding across eastern Spain, killing four people, submerging roads, sweeping away vehicles and forcing thousands of residents to remain indoors.
Storm Adam cut off several Mediterranean coastal towns as rivers overflowed and streets became fast-moving torrents. The scenes echoed the catastrophic floods that killed more than 230 people in the Valencia region two years ago.
Rescue teams recovered the bodies of two people in the Valencian town of Oliva.
One victim was a 79-year-old woman found inside her home. The other was a man who suffered a fatal heart attack at a nearby campsite.
In nearby Sagunto, another body was discovered on the beach. Firefighters in Cabrera de Mar, close to Barcelona, also reported that a woman had died after falling into a stream swollen by the rain.
Security forces conducted more than 400 rescues across the Valencia region by air and land, government representative Pilar Bernabe said.
In Els Poblets, northeast of Alicante, floodwaters piled cars and vans on top of one another as residents tried to recover belongings from their inundated homes.
“The village, well, it’s a disaster. Some people have lost everything all over again, just like in 2007, when exactly the same thing happened,” said 49-year-old chef Javier Fornez.
Floodwaters stacked cars and vans on top of one another after monsoon-like storms struck eastern Spain
Torrential rain turned streets into rivers across eastern Spain
Aerial images show a town and surrounding fields submerged by floodwater
The intense rainfall also hit the Balearic Islands and Catalonia, prompting authorities to order residents in around 100 municipalities to stay indoors for several hours.
Meteorologists say human-caused climate change is making extreme weather events more frequent and more destructive.
Spain’s national weather agency, AEMET, said Storm Adam had delivered exceptional rainfall totals across the east. Pego, in Alicante province, recorded 632mm in 36 hours, while several areas in southern Valencia and northern Alicante received more than 500mm during the same period.
AEMET issued several red alerts, urging people to avoid all travel and move to higher ground.
About 800,000 people were under shelter-in-place orders on Monday morning. By late afternoon, that figure had fallen to 87,000 residents across eight municipalities.
More than 2,000 people were evacuated, most of them in Oliva. The Civil Guard said rescue teams had carried out almost 100 operations in Valencia and Alicante.
Pego mayor Enrique Moll told regional broadcaster A Punt radio that several residents were still waiting to be airlifted from their rooftops.
All roads into the town were blocked, he said, with even heavy-duty military vehicles unable to make their way through some areas.
Emergency workers rescue people stranded on rooftops after severe flooding
A car that survived the floodwater drives through a street Oliva in the aftermath of the storm, on October 20
National weather agency AEMET issued several red alerts, warning residents to avoid all travel and to seek higher ground
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A woman wades through a stream that was once a road following torrential rain, in Oliva, Valencia province, Spain, October 20
A resident empties his home of household items destroyed by the storm in Els Poblets, eastern Spain, on October 19,
A man in knee-high wellies navigates a flooded street in Oliva
People make a start on the clear up as they battle mud-covered streets and belongings in Els Poblets, eastern Spain, on October 19
A resident seems to see the lighter side of the flood as he stands knee-deep in water outside his home in the town of Algeciras
A damaged car that was carried away by floodwaters is removed by an excavator in Els Poblets
A fire service vehicle monitors a bridge over the swollen Girona River following torrential downpours in Els Poblets, eastern Spain, on October 19
An elderly woman rescued by helicopter is taken to a medical facility in Oliva, eastern Spain, on October 19
Men in mud-splattered clothes make a start on the enormous task of putting their flood-damged homes in order, in Els Poblets, eastern Spain, on October 19
At least four people have died after heavy rain triggered flooding in eastern Spain
What was once the contents of a home is now just a pile of debris in a street, in Els Poblets
A car forced off the road by fast-flowing water, in Els Poblets, eastern Spain, on October 19
Salvador Llopis, the deputy mayor of the coastal town of Oliva, told state broadcaster TVE on Monday that emergency services were rescuing trapped residents, particularly elderly people stuck inside their homes with water up to their waists.
‘They have to stay on top of tables and furniture to avoid getting wet,’ he said, adding that the rains had started to ease after causing extensive damage to infrastructure.
More than 100,000 students in the Valencia region have had classes suspended due to the alerts, while the central government has deployed emergency units from the military and national police.
Members of Spain’s military emergency unit were helping rescue and evacuation efforts, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on X, pledging the government’s ‘full support’ and whatever personnel resources were needed.
The focus of the storm was expected to shift to Catalonia, especially Barcelona and Girona provinces, where more than 100mm of rain could fall in less than 12 hours.
Authorities warned that the risk was heightened because the soil was already saturated from previous storms.
Elsewhere in southern France, seven departments remained under orange alert on Tuesday following heavy rains and flooding.
In Arles, the equivalent of nearly two-and-a-half months’ worth of rain fell, breaking the town’s monthly record.
Grau-du-Roi was under an emergency plan on Tuesday morning after flooding, while roads between Nîmes and Montpellier were closed.
Meanwhile in Marseille, severe weather has led to the closing of three tram lines.
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