Spain is preparing for the worst of a powerful Mediterranean storm expected to strengthen on Monday, after it flooded streets, disrupted transport and killed a woman outside Barcelona.
The weather agency AEMET issued its highest red alert for the eastern region of Valencia and the holiday island of Mallorca, warning of “extraordinary danger” from torrential rain in the early hours of Monday. The Balearic Islands government suspended classes in Mallorca, Ibiza and Formentera. In Valencia, which still bears the scars of Spain’s deadliest floods in a generation in 2024, some commuter trains were halted until further notice.
On Sunday, emergency services in Valencia, Catalonia, Andalusia and the Balearic Islands reported hundreds of incidents involving flooded homes and roads, fallen trees and property damage. In Ibiza, roads turned into lakes of muddy water, with giant refuse bins floating past partly submerged cars, and the beach resorts that host the island’s famed nightclub scene stood empty. The main motorway to Ibiza airport was shut. According to airport operator Aena, 27 flights were cancelled, 16 diverted and others delayed there, while a further 37 were scrapped in Mallorca. The army sent troops from the mainland to help with the emergency on Ibiza and Mallorca, and several mass phone alerts told residents in parts of Valencia, the Balearic Islands and Andalusia to avoid unnecessary travel.
The Catalan fire service said a woman who had fallen into a stream on Saturday in Cabrera de Mar, 25 kilometres northeast of Barcelona, was later found dead in the sea. In Andalusia, emergency crews carried out dozens of rescues, including near the tourist hub of Malaga, where 10 people were pulled out of a flooded tunnel on a beach promenade.
Scientists say human-driven climate change is making the Mediterranean storms that usually hit eastern Spain in autumn more intense. The sea soaks up heat over the summer, which increases evaporation and leads to heavier rainfall. This week AEMET announced that September was the hottest on record for mainland Spain, following the country’s warmest summer from June to August.
