Torrential downpours have turned roads into rivers in a number of popular Spanish holiday hotspots, including Malaga, Marbella and Valencia, with tourists warned to ‘stay away’
A holiday hotspot popular with British tourists has been hit by rare ‘red weather alert’ – with visitors warned they are in ‘extraordinary danger’ from flooding.
Torrential rains havebrought chaos across Spain’s Costa del Sol and Valencia regions, triggering flooding in a number of major destinations, including Malaga and Marbella. Locals have been evacuated from their homes amid a major emergency response, and this evening police confirmed one of two men missing after being swept away by fast-flowing currents has been found dead.
The pair, aged 53 and 54, disappeared last night in the Malaga town of Alhaurín el Grande after becoming trapped in floodwaters while driving through area in a van. It is believed they got out of the car to try to continue on foot.
The body of one of the men was found this afternoon, several miles away from where the damaged van had turned up in the Fahala River.
The search operation continues to try to locate the other man, with 100 people taking part, including police and volunteers.
Spain’s meteorological agency, Aemet, raised the alarm today to its maximum level for the Sol and Guadalhorce areas of Malaga, as well as parts of Murcia and the southern coast of Valencia. Warnings were also in place for the Granada province, including Coast, Nevada, and Alpujarras.
Forecasters warned that up to 150mm of rain could fall in just 12 hours, with extreme weather conditions resulting in the Guadalhorce River bursting its banks, flodd nearby towns and agricultural lands.
Dramatic images circulating on social media showed streets in Malaga and Marbella transformed into fast-flowing rivers of muddy brown water, sweeping away cars and submerging ground floor properties.
A major train station in Malaga was reported to be completely inundated with floodwater, leading to disruption across the network, while emergency services have received hundreds of distress calls from trapped residents.
In the town of Cártama and the Doña Ana district, rising waters forced residents to evacuate their homes, while police in Santa Amalia used loudspeakers to urge locals to seek safety on the upper floors of buildings. Emergency alerts were also broadcast directly to mobile phones across affected regions.
Officials have advised tourists to cancel travel plans to the worst-hit areas, with floodwaters several metres high in some locations.
This evening, president of Andalusia Juanma Moreno, asked that “no one lower their guard tonight in Malaga” due to the ongoing threat of further downpours and more flooding.