Madrid, Nov. 13, (dpa/GNA) – Spain’s national weather service declared a red alert for parts of Catalonia in the north-east of the country and Andalusia in the south on Wednesday two weeks after devastating storms struck the Valencia region in the east.
About 3,000 people had been evacuated from an area near a river in Málaga Province in Andalusia as a precautionary measure, the Europapress news agency reported.
The official death toll from the October 29 floods has now risen to 223, with 215 of them from around Valencia, where a code orange alert level was declared for Wednesday.
A further eight people died in Andalusia and Castilla-La Mancha, which lies inland from Valencia. The authorities are still listing 17 people as missing.
Clear up work was proceeding in many municipalities, with roads still blocked by wrecked cars and household goods. The work is focused on clearing clogged stormwater drains.
Heavy rain was recorded on Tuesday and overnight on Mallorca, with local landslides and fallen trees, the Balearic Islands emergency services reported on X.
By early Wednesday, conditions were largely sunny again, with the rain moving westwards towards the mainland. Code yellow, the third-highest alert level, remained in force on Mallorca’s eastern coast.
The lower pressure front is being attributed to the same “Cold Drop” phenomenon typical in the region at this time of year that led to the October 29 rains and flooding, when a year’s worth of rain fell within eight hours in some areas.
Forecasters are expecting less rain this time, but people remain anxious. “Every drop of water means fear,” a woman told state broadcaster RTVE.
GNA
