This is a breaking news story.Spain’s Civil Protection Agency sent a mass alert to mobile phones in Malaga province just after 10pm last night
Thousands of people have been evacuated from their homes near the Costa del Sol over new flooding fears after a weather alert for the area went from yellow to red and locals and holidaymakers were warned: “There is ‘extreme risk.’”
Spain’s Civil Protection Agency sent a mass alert to mobile phones in Malaga province just after 10pm last night warning in Spanish and English: “Red warning activated. Extreme risk of rainfall. Be very cautious, avoid travel.”
In a move estimated to have affected more than 300,000 pupils, it was announced all schools in the province would remain shut today.
A “preventative” evacuation began earlier of around 3,000 people living in approximately 1,000 homes near the Guadalhorce River, one of the worst-affected areas during torrential rainfall and storms a fortnight ago which were blamed for the death of a 71-year-old British expat.
The famous Costa del Sol including the tourist resorts of Marbella and Estepona is expected to take the brunt of the extreme weather phenomenon known as a DANA, a cold drop which was the cause of the catastrophic flash floods which killed more than 200 people in and around the east coast city of Valencia alone.
It was yet to start raining at first daylight on the famous stretch of coast this morning, but things are expected to change from around 10am local time with the red weather warning due to remain in place until midnight.
Regional government representative Antonio Sanz admitted last night as he announced the residential evacuations and today’s school closures: “The situation for the province of Malaga is of extreme risk.
“The forecast was that we were going to be on yellow alert but weather agency Aemet has raised this to red.”
Residents in specific areas near to the River Guadalhorce in inland towns like Alora, Cartama and Alhaurin de la Torre have been moved from their homes to temporary shelters including sports centres where they are unable to find alternative accommodation with friends or relatives.
The British pensioner who died in hospital in Malaga a fortnight ago had been rescued hours earlier from his flooded home in one of the at-risk areas with hypothermia after suffering a heart attack.
Images yesterday showed frightened locals boarding up the doors to their homes or laying sandbags in front of them as they prepared for what was to come.
Residents in some coastal areas wrapped their cars in plastic sheeting to try and protect them from flooding. Supermarkets have been stripped of products like mineral water and meat in parts of Malaga as residents started stockpiling supplies.
Another area on red alert, Castellon north of Valencia, got an early taste of the latest extreme weather phenomenon to affect Spain. Places like the town of Benicarlo, famous for its annual music festival, and Vinaros were among the worst places hit.
Bins were seen floating down the street on the waters last night as motorists struggled to avoid them. School closures today because of the bad weather will also affect thousands of children on the northern part of the Costa Blanca including Denia and Calpe near Benidorm.
The city of Valencia and some of its suburbs , still recovering from the catastrophic floods late last month, also decided to suspend classes. A dry summer in Spain has given way to an autumn of freak weather events.
Last Friday residents in Cadaques in the northern Spanish province of Girona woke up to a scene of destruction after 32 cars were washed away by flood water. Many ended up piled on top of each other by a bridge in front of the town casino, with at least one of the smashed-up vehicles appearing to belong to foreign tourists, according to its number plate.
Miraculously there were no reports of any casualties in the former fishing village near to where famous artist Salvador Dali used to live. Cadaques is just over three hundred miles north of Valencia, where the majority of the 223 people who lost their lives in the flash floods late last month in Spain died.
Spanish King Felipe VI, who was pelted with mud along with Queen Letizia and Spanish politicians including the PM Pedro Sanchez during his first visit to Valencia in the aftermath of the natural disaster, returned to the city alone yesterday. This time he visited soldiers who have been helping in rescue and clean-up work.
