Spain Flooding: Thousands Evacuates Southern Region

Thousands of people have been evacuated from their homes in the Costa del Sol region of southern Spain after a red weather alert was issued for extreme rain and flooding.

Spain’s Civil Protection Agency sent a mass alert to phones in Málaga province after 22:00 local time (21:00 GMT) on Tuesday evening warning of an “extreme risk of rainfall.”

The area, including the tourist resorts of Marbella, Velez, and Estepona, is expected to take the brunt of the extreme weather phenomenon known as a “Dana.”

Several other regions in Spain remain on alert as the new weather front is expected to bring torrential rain and low temperatures just weeks after the country was devastated by flash floods that have so far killed more than 220 people.

Red Alert
Catalonia in north-eastern Spain, particularly the coast near Tarragona, has also been placed on red alert until Wednesday evening.

Schools in the entire southern province of Málaga have been closed while many supermarkets have kept shutters down.

Around 3,000 people living in close proximity to the Guadalhorce River have been told to leave their homes, the Regional Government of Andalusia has said.

Regional government’s Minister of the Presidency Antonio Sanz said: “We have not evacuated entire towns, but rather specific areas linked to the riverbank.

“This decision has been communicated to the government of Spain in order to receive collaboration from the state security forces and bodies.”

The severe weather alert in Málaga has also led to the opening tie of the Billie Jean King Cup between Spain and Poland being postponed, the International Tennis Federation said.

The two nations were set to play in Malaga on Wednesday.

In other parts of Spain, precautions are being taken – with eastern and southern Mediterranean areas, the most vulnerable.

Spain’s meteorological agency Aemet has placed parts of the Valencia and Andalusia regions, as well as the Balearic Islands, on orange alert from now until Thursday.

Aemet warns of rainfall and storms that could be “very strong to torrential.”

That orange alert is the second highest, and it signals a significant meteorological event “with a degree of danger for normal activities.”

BBC/Shakirat Sadiq