Heavy rain causes flash flooding across southern Spain

MADRID

Heavy rainfall in Spain has led to flash flooding in the southeast and east of the country since the beginning of the week.

According to information from local authorities and the Meteorological Directorate, excessive rainfall has affected Murcia, Valencia, Catalonia, and Aragon, causing numerous homes and businesses to be flooded, trees to be uprooted, roads to collapse, and vehicles to be swept away by floods.

In Valencia, where an "important risk" orange alert has been in effect since the beginning of the week, more than 140 liters of rainfall per square meter have been recorded, particularly in the city of Castellon and its surroundings.

In Murcia, where schools were closed, 15 people were rescued from vehicles engulfed by floodwaters, with 4 of them being rescued by helicopter.

In the capital Madrid, 100 liters of rainfall per square meter were recorded in the past 12 hours, and emergency response teams intervened in 16 locations.

On the other hand, after experiencing historically low rainfall in March and April, Spain has seen record rainfall in May.

Commenting on the situation in the Spanish media, meteorology experts pointed out the impact of climate change, and said short-duration and intense rainfall events do not solve the drought problem, but only lead to floods.

Experts stated the Mediterranean regions of the Iberian Peninsula, which are most exposed to floods, receive 19% more rainfall during heavy rain periods compared to the 1960s.

Considering the last 10 years, it is observed that severe rainfall and storms originating from the Mediterranean and the Atlantic have significantly increased compared to previous years, they said.