Spain’s national weather agency, AEMET, issued weather warnings for large parts of the country on Tuesday, as several days of torrential rain following a prolonged drought caused minor flooding.
The heavy rains have mainly affected the southern provinces of Alicante and Almería which have been hit by several thunderstorms since the weekend.
Torrential rains have also lashed Madrid, where several roads were cut on Monday night due to flooding.
Flooding also temporarily interrupted traffic along stretches of three of the Spanish capital’s 12 metro lines, local officials said.
AEMET put most of northern Spain on alert on Tuesday due to the risk of thunderstorms, hail and strong winds.
Most of the region of Valencia, which is home to important tourism resorts such as Benidorm, were also on alert, along with parts of central Spain.
Experts said the torrential rains were insufficient to end the deficit in Spain’s water reservoirs.
Spain’s reservoirs, which store rainwater for use in drier months, were at just 47.5% of their capacity during the final week of May, down slightly from 47.7% during the previous week, according to environment ministry figures. This is well below the ten-year average of around 68%.
Spain has registered the driest start to a year since records began, with less than half the average rainfall during the first four months of 2023, according to AEMET.
The government earlier this month approved measures worth more than two billion euros to alleviate the impact of the prolonged drought, especially on the agricultural sector. Spain is the European Union’s biggest producer of fruit and vegetables, and the world’s biggest exporter of olives.
Inundadas las calles del barrio de Mirasierra, al norte de Madrid, tras la tromba de agua caída este lunes. La lluvia provocó alteraciones en varias líneas del Metro y en Barajas y obligó a cerrar la A-2 https://t.co/44ulLh9lkE pic.twitter.com/JgkaCLR1PG
— Europa Press (@europapress) May 30, 2023
30/05 18:01 #AEMET #FMA nivel naranja por lluvias y/o tormentas para hoy en Reg. Murcia y Comun. Madrid . Imagen en vigor a las 18:01 (tabla actualizada haciendo CLIC EN LA IMAGEN), o visite https://t.co/aIJV7DDYto https://t.co/aagUSOJ5VA
— AEMET (@AEMET_Esp) May 30, 2023
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