Malaga flooding latest: Severe rain alerts as homes ‘decimated’ after month’s worth of rainfall hits in hours
Severe weather alerts have been issued and thousands evacuated as a powerful storm brings a month’s worth of rain and high winds to Spain just weeks after deadly flash floods hit the country.
While a red alert in Valencia was lifted on Thursday morning after more than 100mm of rain fell in some areas, warnings remained in place. Dozens of emergency callouts were reported overnight, mostly in areas worst-hit by the previous floods, which killed more than 200 people.
Although the fresh rains appear to have brought limited damage, in the Malaga province, homes were “decimated” by flooding after a river burst its banks on Wednesday in the town of Benamargosa, as around 3,000 people living along the Guadalhorce River and reportedly a further 1,100 near the Vélez River were evacuated.
The city of Malaga’s main hospital was forced to limit services to emergencies only after becoming flooded.
The Costa del Sol, including popular tourist destinations like Marbella, Estepona, and Vélez, is bearing the brunt of the extreme weather phenomenon known as a “Dana”.