Torrential rains fell in the Barcelona region on Monday, November 4, causing significant damage. The red alert for bad weather was issued by Aemet, the Spanish national weather agency, earlier in the morning.
Canceled and diverted flights
On social networks, images show numerous floods, particularly at Barcelona airport, leading to the cancellation of several flights.
According to Aena, the Spanish body responsible for managing airports in Spain, 70 flights were canceled and 18 diverted to another route.
Disturbances on the rails
Nearly 150 mm of cumulative water has already fallen“in just about four hours” at El Prat airport, where a crisis committee has been set up, Aemet reported on X.
For safety reasons, Renfe – the Spanish railways – has suspended train traffic throughout central Catalonia since 10:40 a.m. Regional trains and Rodalies, which provide peri-urban services to Barcelona, are also affected. High-speed train traffic between Barcelona and Madrid was also disrupted.
Blocked vehicles, flooded streets…
Impressive images, widely relayed on social networks, also showed vehicles blocked on a highway near the Catalan capital or flooded streets in neighboring towns.
The Aemet red alert ended at 2 p.m. but Catalonia Civil Protection asked parents not to rush to schools to collect their children who are in a safe place in the schools.
This new bad weather comes a few days after the devastating floods that occurred in the Valencia region, which left at least 217 dead: 213 in the Valencia region alone, three in Castile-la-Mancha and one in Andalusia.
