Thousands evacuated in Costa del Sol as Spain's weather alert escalates to 'extreme risk'
by Georgia Diebelius, Natalia Penza · ChronicleLiveThousands of individuals have been evacuated from their homes near the Costa del Sol due to new flooding fears, as a weather alert for the area escalated from yellow to red. Locals and holidaymakers were warned of an 'extreme risk.
Spain's Civil Protection Agency issued a mass alert to mobile phones in Malaga province just after 10pm last night, cautioning in Spanish and English: "Red warning activated. Extreme risk of rainfall. Be very cautious, avoid travel."
In a move that is estimated to have impacted over 300,000 students, it was announced that all schools in the province would remain closed today. A 'preventative' evacuation began earlier for around 3,000 people residing in approximately 1,000 homes near the Guadalhorce River, one of the areas most severely affected by torrential rain and storms two weeks ago, which resulted in the death of a 71 year old British expat.
The famous Costa del Sol, including the tourist resorts of Marbella and Estepona, is expected to bear the brunt of the extreme weather phenomenon known as a DANA, a cold drop which caused the catastrophic flash floods that claimed the lives of more than 200 people in and around the east coast city of Valencia alone. Although it had yet to start raining at first light on this renowned stretch of coast this morning, conditions are expected to change from around 10am local time with the red weather warning set to remain in place until midnight.
Antonio Sanz, the regional government representative, acknowledged the severity of the situation last night as he declared residential evacuations and school closures for today: "The situation for the province of Malaga is of extreme risk.", reports the Mirror.
He further explained, "The forecast was that we were going to be on yellow alert but weather agency Aemet has raised this to red."
Residents in areas close to the River Guadalhorce, including towns like Alora, Cartama, and Alhaurin de la Torre, have been relocated to temporary shelters such as sports centres if they are unable to arrange alternative accommodation with friends or family. This comes after a British pensioner passed away in a Malaga hospital two weeks ago, having been rescued from his flooded home in one of the at-risk areas with hypothermia following a heart attack.
Images from yesterday depicted worried locals boarding up their homes or placing sandbags in preparation for the impending storm. Some coastal residents even wrapped their cars in plastic sheeting in an attempt to shield them from flood damage.
In parts of Malaga, supermarkets have seen items like mineral water and meat fly off the shelves as people begin to stockpile essentials. Castellon, another region on red alert located north of Valencia, experienced an early impact from the latest extreme weather event to hit Spain.
Towns such as Benicarlo, known for its annual music festival, and Vinaros were among those most affected.
Bins were seen floating down the street on the waters last night as motorists struggled to avoid them. School closures today due to the severe weather will impact thousands of children in the northern part of Costa Blanca, including Denia and Calpe near Benidorm.
The city of Valencia and some of its suburbs, still recovering from the devastating floods late last month, also decided to suspend classes. A dry summer in Spain has given way to an autumn of unusual weather events.
Last Friday, residents in Cadaques in the northern Spanish province of Girona woke up to a scene of destruction after 32 cars were washed away by flood water. Many ended up piled on top of each other by a bridge in front of the town casino, with at least one of the wrecked vehicles appearing to belong to foreign tourists, according to its number plate.
Remarkably, there were no reports of any casualties in the former fishing village near where renowned artist Salvador Dali used to live. Cadaques is just over three hundred miles north of Valencia, where the majority of the 223 people who lost their lives in the flash floods late last month in Spain died.
Spanish King Felipe VI, who was pelted with mud along with Queen Letizia and Spanish politicians including PM Pedro Sanchez during his first visit to Valencia in the aftermath of the natural disaster, returned to the city alone yesterday. This time he visited soldiers who have been assisting in rescue and clean-up work.
Join our WhatsApp communities
ChronicleLive is now on WhatsApp and we want you to join our communities.
We have a number of communities to join, so you can choose which one you want to be part of and we'll send you the latest news direct to your phone. You could even join them all!
To join you need to have WhatsApp on your device. All you need to do is choose which community you want to join, click on the link and press 'join community'.
No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the ChronicleLive team.
We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners.
If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'.
If you’re curious, you can read our privacy notice.
Join the ChronicleLive Breaking News and Top Stories community
Join our Court & Crime community
Join the Things to do in Newcastle and the North East community
Join our Northumberland community
Join our County Durham community
Join our Great North Run community