torrential rains, mud villages and at least two deaths

Vehicles piled up or dragged towards the sea by the force of the water, fallen trees, floating garbage cans and streets transformed into real rivers: the heavy rains that fell in eastern Spain left impressive images and destruction , which the authorities assessed on Thursday.

This violent storm is the effect of a phenomenon known as the “cold drop”, which has already caused other downpours in previous years at this time.

The temporary rage Wednesday caused flooding in several cities, including the provinces of Tarragona, Castellón and Toledo.

And for this Thursday, significant rainfall was expected in Catalonia, the Valencian Community, Aragon, the Balearic Islands and Navarre, with areas in orange level due to storms and rains.

According to the newspaper The country, two German tourists aged 23 and 25 who bathed in the waters of Cala Mandia, in Manacor, Mallorca, they drowned while swimming in the middle of a strong surf.

Brown water and material damage

The impact of the storm which was described on Wednesday as “very exceptional” by the meteorological service of Catalonia has left serious material damage in eastern Spain, where towns like Alcanar, some 200 kilometers south of Barcelona, ​​recorded 212 liters per square meter in three hours.

A strong current of brown water swept through the streets of several municipalities in the area, destroying everything in its path and forcing the security forces to rescue people from vehicles.

In principle, there were no deaths in the towns affected by the floods.

“It seemed like the world was ending,” Alcanar mayor Joan Roig told Rac 1 radio, and said his town was “devastated on Thursday,” so he asked for help removing the mud that still flooded its streets.

The local administration maintains the flood warning while the damage is assessed and the 83 people who were evicted are returning home.

In the neighboring Valencian Community (east), torrential rains have made the task even more difficult for the giant monuments of the Fallas, which are celebrated these days for the first time since the start of the covid pandemic.

In Madrid, the storm also inundated streets, urban tunnels and roads, causing traffic jams, falling trees or branches and damaged vehicles. Several metro lines have had to temporarily suspend their services.

In addition, homes and business premises were flooded. The emergency services were overwhelmed by calls for help.

Climate change and worrying forecasts

The weather situation will continue “to become more complicated in large areas of the center and east of the peninsula” in the coming hours, according to the spokesperson for the State Meteorological Agency (AEMET), Rubén del Campo.

The spokesperson stressed that climate change is making these extreme events more and more frequent in Spain, especially in the Mediterranean region.

In September 2019, seven people had been killed by floods in the south-east of the country and the previous year there had been 13 victims of a storm on the island of Mallorca (Balearic Islands).

The “cold drop” phenomenon can occur between the end of summer and the beginning of European autumn, in particular on the Mediterranean coast. And climate experts warn that the phenomena could worsen if the temperature of the planet continues to rise.

With global warming, the atmosphere contains more water vapor and increases the risk of heavy rain episodes, scientists say.

This precipitation, associated with other factors mainly linked to land use planning, favors flooding.

Left unchecked, when global temperatures rise a further degree, floods will kill twice as many people as at the end of the 20th century, according to a preliminary report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Evolution of the climate (IPCC) obtained by AFP. in June 2021.

Source: AFP and EFE

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