Thousands were evacuated from Malaga as nearly a month’s worth of rain fell in parts of Spain in an hour

CNN
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Severe thunderstorms and torrential rain have hit Spain’s coast again, forcing thousands of people to be evacuated, just two weeks after the country experienced deadly flooding in Valencia and other surrounding communities.

Almost 3,000 people and a thousand houses have been evacuated in the Malaga area, Antonio Sanz, the director of the emergency plan for the flood risk in Andalusia, said on Wednesday.

Five areas near the Guadalhorce riverbank were preemptively evacuated due to the risk of flooding.

Nearly a month’s worth of rain flooded the city of Malaga in Spain’s Andalusia region in just one hour, according to the country’s weather agency, AEMet. About 100 millimeters (4 inches) of rain fell in the southern Spanish province so far on Wednesday, with 78 millimeters (3 inches) of it falling within an hour. In Malaga, the average value in November is usually 100.5 millimeters.

Spain’s weather agency has issued red warnings for extreme rainfall in the regions of Andalusia and Catalonia, reporting impassable roads and flooded basements in several cities.

The video from the crime scene shows streets in Malaga under water.

Malaga City Council issued an evacuation order near the Campanillas River on Wednesday due to the risk of overflow.

The Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility has also announced that it has suspended the Málaga-Madrid rail service due to the accumulation of water on the tracks.

The severe weather warning in Malaga led to the postponement of the opening round of the Billie Jean King Cup, which was due to take place between Spain and Poland on Wednesday evening.

Heavy rain is expected from the provinces of Málaga and Granada to Valencia until the evening and Tarragona, where up to 180 millimeters (7 inches) is possible.

Authorities announced that schools will be closed on Thursday across the province of Málaga, as well as in areas with an orange rain warning, including the municipalities of Seville, Cádiz and Huelva.

A red weather warning has now been issued for the coastal area of ​​the province of Valencia for Thursday. Spain’s Transport Minister Óscar Puente announced the closure of all non-essential movement on Valencia’s streets at 6 p.m. local time (12 p.m. ET) on Wednesday.

The Valencia City Council announced that school operations will be suspended this Wednesday and Thursday throughout the city of Valencia and its districts to prevent risks.

The country is still reeling from historic flooding that killed more than 220 people just two weeks ago, the worst flooding in decades.

Last weekend, demonstrators marched in Valencia demanding the resignation of regional President Carlos Mazón over the slow response to the deadly natural disaster.