New torrential rains hit Spain

New torrential rains fell on the south and east of Spain on Wednesday, reviving the fears of the victims, just two weeks after the devastating floods which left at least 223 dead, mainly in the Valencia region.

The national meteorological agency (Aemet) has issued a red alert, the maximum level, in the provinces of Malaga (south) and Tarragona (north-east), due to this new “cold drop”, an isolated depression at high altitude quite common in autumn on the Spanish Mediterranean coast.

In areas placed on red alert, located on the coast, nearly 120 to 180 liters of precipitation per square meter (120 to 180 millimeters) could accumulate over the coming hours, according to Aemet. The precipitation will last until Thursday.

Heavy rains, although less heavy, are also expected in the Valencia region, affected by the floods of October 29, with the fear of seeing the sewers still blocked by mud overflow, while residents struggle to raise their heads in the face of the enormous damage caused by this tragedy.

“We have already lost our cars, we have already lost a large part of our homes and we don’t have a job either. So we have nothing left to lose,” lamented Carlos Moltó, a resident of Picaña, a town of 11,000 inhabitants located in the suburbs of Valencia, to the regional television channel A Punt.

The neighboring municipality of Paiporta, considered the epicenter of the tragedy of October 29, suffered further flooding, according to the newspaper Las Provincias. In this town, which is still devastated, residents have set up makeshift barricades with bags of earth in front of the doors of houses.

As a precaution, several municipalities in the region have asked the thousands of volunteers who come every day to help residents clear the streets, not to go to the disaster areas on Wednesday.

The new rains could disrupt the search for the 17 people still missing according to the authorities. Operations are mainly concentrated around watercourses and on the coast, at river mouths.

In Andalusia and Catalonia, where the provinces placed on red alert are located (Malaga and Tarragona), the authorities have anticipated the possible consequences of heavy rains by sending alert messages to mobile phones, the reception of which causes a loud beep.

“Be very careful, avoid traveling and follow the advice” of the emergency services, indicates the one sent to Malaga.

Valencia authorities were heavily criticized for sending this warning message late on October 29: Aemet had placed the region on red alert in the morning, but many residents of the area were already underwater when the message has been transmitted.

Indignation against the authorities, accused of having poorly assessed the risks and of having delayed too long in the deployment of relief, gave rise to massive demonstrations on Saturday, the largest of which brought together 130,000 people in the city of Valencia.

The red alert issued by Aemet, corresponding to weather phenomena of “exceptional intensity” presenting “a very high level of risk for the population”, also led the authorities to suspend classes on Wednesday in part of Catalonia and in Andalusian cities like Granada and Malaga.

In this city, bad weather also led to the postponement to Friday of a match between Spain and Poland as part of the Billie Jean King Cup in women’s tennis, which was to be played on Wednesday afternoon.

In the Valencia region, this new cold drop caused waves of more than four meters on the coast, and convinced the authorities to close certain roads and train lines. Maritime traffic was also suspended in the ports of Valencia and Sagunto.