Torrential rain triggered flash floods in southern Spain on Tuesday, forcing authorities to evacuate over 350 homes, in addition to shutting down roads and cancelling classes.
Regional officials ordered the evacuation of 365 homes in Campanillas, a village near Malaga, late on Monday after a nearby river overflowed. Those displaced were accommodated in a municipal sports hall overnight.
According to Andalusia’s regional interior chief, 19 rivers across the region were placed on red alert for flooding on Tuesday as severe weather conditions spread beyond Malaga, affecting inland areas near Sevilla and Cordoba. Rising water levels also led to the closure of 40 highways across Andalusia, as well as some railway lines.
This same region in Malaga had already been impacted by severe flooding last November when heavy rains swept across large parts of Spain, causing devastation in the east of the country. That disaster claimed 233 lives, the majority in Valencia.
The current storm, Laurence, is set to be replaced by Storm Martinho on Thursday, bringing yet another round of heavy rainfall that is expected to continue across Spain until Sunday.
Throughout Tuesday, Storm Laurence was forecasted to bring persistent rain, with particularly intense downpours in southern and inland Andalusia, central Spain, and Mediterranean regions such as Valencia, Castellón and Tarragona. In some locations, rainfall could reach up to 80 litres per square metre. The Canary Islands were also expected to experience showers.
By Wednesday, a brief respite from the widespread rainfall was anticipated, although residents of Catalonia and the Valencia region should still prepare for continued showers.
Storm Martinho, the fourth storm in Spain in just 12 days and the 13th this winter, is expected to follow Storm Laurence. Initially, it will affect the western Iberian Peninsula, from Galicia to Huelva, before moving eastward by Friday. Winds of up to 120 km/h are forecasted in the northern regions, along with snowfall in higher areas.
In under two weeks, Spain has already endured Storm Jana, Storm Konrad, Storm Laurence, and now Storm Martinho.
The past three weeks have brought almost continuous rain across many parts of Spain making this March one of the wettest on record. ALSO READ: The rain in Spain … means the country is on the verge of ending 4-year drought.
The country has faced a prolonged drought in recent years, but has been receiving consistent rainfall in its southern regions over the past two weeks. The latest storm has also overwhelmed riverbanks and reservoirs, exacerbating flooding.
Scientists and government officials attribute these dramatic shifts between extreme drought and heavy rainfall to climate change, which has also led to increasingly intense summer heatwaves in Spain.
⚠️ 7.45 h: Estado del cruce en #Campanillas de calle José Calderón con calle El Boni. Policía Local en la zona corta la vía. pic.twitter.com/cCy5rtm7bq
— Área de Movilidad Málaga (@movilidadmlg) March 18, 2025
🌧️Madrugada complicada por las intensas lluvias en Andalucía, especialmente en Málaga
🔴En Cártama y la barriada de Campanillas, suspendidas las clases y desalojo de centenares de vecinos por el desbordamiento del Guadalhorce
🎙️@Lorcaprosa pic.twitter.com/k9ecb60vHO— RTVEAndalucía (@RTVEAndalucia) March 18, 2025
☔️ Martes lluvioso por la borrasca Laurence. El miércoles, tregua, pero con lluvias intensas en Cataluña y Com. Valenciana.
🌀A partir del jueves, nueva borrasca en esta larga sucesión: será Martinho, con lluvias generalizadas y vientos fuertes. ¡Cuatro borrascas en doce días! pic.twitter.com/29tCBwA091
— AEMET (@AEMET_Esp) March 18, 2025
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