At least four people killed by floods in eastern Spain — Interia
At least four people have died in eastern Spain as a result of flash floods. Heavy downpours caused by the DANA phenomenon flooded a significant part of the Valencian Community and areas near Alicante. This was reported by Interia.
One of the victims was a woman who was swept away by a torrent on Saturday evening in Cabrera de Mar, in the province of Barcelona, while walking with her husband and two children. Her body was found on Monday morning. Another woman went missing on Sunday while swimming near a beach in Sagunt, Valencia; her body was discovered nearby. On Monday afternoon, the bodies of two more people were found in Oliva.
Intense rainfall and flooded roads
In some areas of eastern Spain, more than 600 liters of water per square meter fell within 36 hours. In the Pego area near Alicante, rainfall exceeded 620 liters per square meter and reached 700 liters in some places. According to the outlet, these are the heaviest downpours in several decades: on November 3, 1987, 817 liters of water per square meter fell in La Safor within a day, a record for Spain.
DANA is an isolated high-altitude depression that can bring extremely intense short-term rainfall and cause dangerous flooding. Rivers, including the Girona, overflowed due to the disaster, while roads to a number of settlements in the provinces of Valencia and Alicante became virtually impassable.
More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.
Evacuations and school closures
Rescue operations are continuing with the involvement of 15 helicopters. By 11:00 p.m. on Sunday, emergency services in the east of the country had responded to more than a thousand calls. In some settlements, residents were advised to move to the upper floors of buildings, while civil services and military personnel evacuated people from the roofs of flooded homes.
Authorities temporarily imposed movement restrictions in 145 municipalities in southern Valencia and north of Alicante. Later, the restrictions remained in force in eight municipalities. Classes were canceled at schools in eastern Spain on Monday: more than 100,000 students missed lessons, including over 80,000 in Valencia and more than 21,000 in Alicante.
At the end of October 2024, a similar DANA phenomenon caused flooding in southern and eastern Spain. At that time, 241 people died, and the damage was estimated at billions of euros.
