Two people have died and another remains missing after torrential rain triggered severe flooding across Catalonia, northeastern Spain, disrupting transport, flooding homes and prompting hundreds of rescue operations.
The storms began on Saturday, October 3, with authorities issuing a red weather alert and urging residents to remain indoors as exceptionally heavy rain battered areas around Barcelona and Girona.
The worst of the flooding occurred from Saturday into Sunday, October 4, as floodwaters submerged vehicles, entered homes and disrupted roads and rail services across affected communities.
Catalan President Salvador Illa confirmed that a man died in Tordera, north of Barcelona, after a wall collapsed. Firefighters also reported the death of another person in Montornès del Vallès.
Meanwhile, emergency teams searched for a person reported missing in Pineda de Mar after apparently being swept away by a stream. The search was suspended on Sunday after firefighters and police searched the affected watercourse without success, but resumed on Monday.
Catalonia’s regional weather service, Meteocat, described the weather system as exceptional, while authorities continued to urge residents to exercise caution as further locally intense rainfall was expected.
By Monday, October 5, emergency teams were continuing search and rescue operations while authorities assessed damage to homes, public infrastructure and transport networks.
Illa said the worst of the storm had passed, but urged authorities to focus on restoring homes, public facilities and communication routes and returning affected communities to normality.
Spain’s State Meteorological Agency (AEMET) also continued to issue weather warnings, with heavy rain expected in parts of the country.
The flooding in Catalonia came as severe weather affected other parts of Spain. In Castilla-La Mancha, a 102-year-old woman died on Saturday following heavy rain, in a separate incident from the two deaths recorded in Catalonia.
Authorities continue to monitor the situation as emergency services respond to the aftermath of the flooding and work to restore normal services across the affected areas.