Rains in Barcelona disrupt rail as troops search for flood victims in Valencia

Storms in eastern Spain that led to massive flooding last week and killed more than 200 people, mostly near Valencia, have now dumped rain on Barcelona, prompting authorities to suspend commuter rail services.

Spanish Transport Minister Oscar Puente said he was suspending all commuter trains in north-east Catalonia, a region with a population of eight million, on request from civil protection officials.

Mobile phones in Barcelona issued an alert over “extreme and continued rainfall” on the southern outskirts of the city. The alert urged people to avoid any normally dry gorges or canals.

Mr Puente said that the rains had forced air traffic controllers to change the course of 15 flights operating at Barcelona’s airport, located on the southern flank of the city.

Several major roads have been closed due to flooding.

Classes were cancelled in Tarragona, a city in southern Catalonia about halfway between Barcelona and Valencia, after a red alert for rains was issued.

Meanwhile, in Valencia, the search continued for bodies inside houses and thousands of wrecked cars strewn in the streets, on major roads, and in canals that channelled last week’s deluge into populated areas.

Citizens, volunteers and thousands of soldiers and police officers are helping in the gargantuan clean-up effort of mud and debris.