2 killed as storms pummel Spain’s Mediterranean coast

OVIEDO, Spain

A massive storm system claimed the lives of two people in the eastern Albacete region on Thursday after bringing strong winds and historic levels of rainfall to Spain, local media reported.

Police found the victims inside an overturned car that had been swept away by floods. According to Spanish news agency Europa Press, they were brother and sister.

The storm has already broken records, registering nearly 300 liters of rainfall per square meter within 24 hours in the region in southern Valencia -- the heaviest downpour the area has seen since records began in 1917.

Across the southeastern coast of Spain, rivers overtopped their banks, roads turned into dangerous streams, and tornados also reportedly touched down. Amongst a slew of physical damage, a bridge that has existed since the 16th century was swept away.

All classes were canceled on Thursday in Murcia and many schools in Valencia also shut their doors due to the weather. Hundreds of at-risk houses were evacuated.

The storm, which started on Monday, is slow-moving. Today, parts of Almeria, Murcia and Alicante, in the south of the Valencia region, are under red alert, but the storm is expected to drag northwards on Friday, putting the entire region and the city of Valencia at its center.

“Today and tomorrow will be the worst days for the storm in Murcia and Valencia,” Jaime Rey, a director at Spain’s state meteorological agency (AEMET), told Spanish news agency EFE.

He added that the worst may be yet to come since the storm remains extremely active.

AEMET meteorologists warned that this could be the most devastating storm in years because red alerts are in place for both heavy rains and violent storms. Besides torrential rains, the storm system makes possible winds of up to 100 kilometers (62 miles) per hour, large hail, four-meter waves, tornados and waterspouts.