Spain hit by new catastrophic flooding as cars swept away in Girona fishing village
On Friday, a sudden flood in northeastern Spain carried off vehicles, just a week after the country experienced its heaviest rainfall ever recorded.
In stunning video, heavy rainfall transformed roads into flowing rivers, carrying cars along with it.
A severe storm struck Cadaqués in the Girona region of Catalonia, leading to significant flash flooding that swept away 32 vehicles. This occurred despite officials' warnings for residents to stay away from areas prone to flooding, as reported by Girona's mayor, Pia Serinyana.
Numerous people found themselves stacked together near a bridge in front of the town's casino. Although there was significant destruction, thankfully, there were no reports of injuries or fatalities.
Meteocat reports that the total rainfall may have exceeded four inches. The Catalan weather agency stated, "This is how the Cadaques stream appears after the heavy and persistent rain we experienced this morning, which likely brought more than 100mm of precipitation."
At the same time, the UK's Foreign Office has released travel advisories for areas on Spain's Mediterranean coast, such as Valencia and Castilla-La Mancha, where intense weather conditions are still causing disturbances to travel and everyday activities.
According to Spain's meteorological agency, Aemet, Girona is still under a yellow weather warning due to expected rainfall of 20mm.
Cadaqués is located a bit more than three hundred miles north of Valencia, where over 200 lives were tragically taken in what has been labeled as Spain’s “flood of the century” earlier this week, following an extraordinary downpour that affected the southern and eastern regions.
The Spanish army has been sent in to help with rescue operations and aid local officials in their recovery work, as the death toll from the floods has exceeded 200.
The storm originated from a high-altitude weather system referred to as a Dana storm, which is short for "depresión aislada en niveles altos," meaning isolated depression at high elevations.
While Spain has experienced intense autumn storms before, climate specialists link the increase in severity and frequency of these storms to the effects of climate change.
The crisis has sparked backlash from local residents, who claim that officials have taken too long to react.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has deployed almost 15,000 workers, such as police officers, military personnel, forensic teams, and customs officials, to assist in the recovery of areas affected by flooding and to restore vital services.
