Schools Shut, Thousands Evacuated As Spain Braces For New Floods

OVIEDO (Spain), Nov 13 (Bernama-Anadolu) -- Parts of Spain are bracing for more dangerous flooding on Wednesday as a new storm system is expected to bring heavy rainfall, Anadolu Agency reported.

The torrential downpours come just 15 days after a previous storm triggered catastrophic flooding, killing at least 223 people and devastating the province of Valencia.

Once again, the affected area is under an orange alert for heavy rainfall.

In Valencia, dozens of municipalities have cancelled classes.

While the meteorological agency does not predict Valencia will get the worst of this storm, sewage systems are still full of mud from the last floods, which could complicate drainage.

This time, the areas under red alert are around the Malaga and Tarragona regions.

In Malaga, around 3,000 people have been evacuated from their homes on the banks of the Guadalhorce River. The same area also experienced flooding two weeks ago.

Residents of the province of Malaga received cell phone alerts on Tuesday night, warning of an “extreme risk of rainfall” and advising them to avoid travel.

Schools will not open on Wednesday across all of Malaga and the Granada coast.

Meanwhile, some roads are being blocked, schools are closing, and rail lines are being canceled in Tarragona, in the south of Catalonia.

The preventative measures on Wednesday stand in contrast to the lack of an early warning in Valencia two weeks ago.

There, despite being on red alert for rainfall, residents were generally not advised to stay home or seek higher ground until the flooding had already reached catastrophic levels.

Both storm systems were caused by a weather phenomenon known as a DANA in Spain or a “cut-off low.” These occur when low-pressure areas get cut off from the westerly winds of the jet stream. Since they are isolated from the jet stream, they can move slowly and erratically, releasing huge amounts of rain over small areas.

This storm system began affecting Spain on Tuesday and is expected to last until at least Friday, according to Spain’s meteorological agency.

Speaking at COP29 on Tuesday, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez attributed the intensity of these weather events to climate change.

“Climate change kills,” he said, calling for increased efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and prevent future natural disasters.

-- BERNAMA-ANADOLU