A mother and her 18-year-old daughter have died after being critically injured when a wall collapsed on them during the torrential rain and flash flooding that struck the Tarragona coast (Catalonia) at the weekend.
The two women had been in critical condition at Joan XXIII University Hospital in Tarragona since the incident in the early hours of Saturday in Roda de Berà, around 75 kilometres southwest of Barcelona.
Their deaths were confirmed on Wednesday by the town’s mayor, Pere Virgili, a day after confusion over their condition led the local council to announce prematurely that they had died.
Roda de Berà has declared two days of official mourning, with a minute’s silence also planned in memory of the victims.
Catalan regional president Salvador Illa expressed his condolences to their relatives and friends, describing it as ‘news that hits us deeply’ and adding: ‘All my support in these painful moments.’
Wall collapsed beside summer market
The incident happened near Roda de Berà’s marina, where a summer craft market had been set up on Avenida Bélgica.
The mother and daughter were at their stall at around 2am when the force of the flooding caused a wall separating the street from private property to give way and fall on them.
According to other reports of the incident, the pair had been sleeping or sheltering inside the stall alongside another member of their family when the wall collapsed.
Three people were trapped or injured. The third was the grandfather of the family, who escaped with less serious injuries, while the mother and daughter were rescued by firefighters and taken to hospital in a critical condition.
They remained in hospital for several days before their deaths were officially confirmed on Wednesday.
Council apologised after prematurely announcing deaths
There had already been considerable confusion surrounding the condition of the two women on Tuesday after Roda de Berà council initially announced that they had died.
The council had understood that a decision had been made to withdraw their life support and went as far as declaring two days of mourning and arranging a minute’s silence ahead of the town’s festes majors. A pyromusical display planned for Tuesday night was also due to be dedicated to the mother and daughter.
However, Catalonia’s Department of Health subsequently clarified that both women were still alive.
The council then withdrew its earlier announcement and explained that the information had resulted from a conversation between Mayor Pere Virgili and the victims’ grandfather.
Virgili said on Wednesday that the grandfather had verbally informed him of the apparent deaths, but that the information had not been officially confirmed. The mayor said confirmation that the two women had died finally came on Wednesday morning.
Following Tuesday’s mistake, the council issued a statement expressing its regret over the confusion and apologising for the additional anguish and distress caused by the incorrect announcement.
Storm flooded streets and forced evacuations
Roda de Berà was among the areas badly affected by the violent storms that hit southern Catalonia in the early hours of Saturday.
Intense rainfall flooded streets, brought down trees and caused water to enter homes, while vehicles and street furniture were also damaged.
Hundreds of people were evacuated from a campsite close to the seafront, while a nightclub was also evacuated during the emergency. Elsewhere, people became trapped inside vehicles as floodwater rapidly accumulated.
A total of 11 people were reported injured during the storm, including the three family members caught in the wall collapse.
Despite the severity of the rainfall, Catalonia’s Civil Protection authorities did not send an ES-Alert emergency warning to mobile phones in the affected area. Authorities said forecasts had not indicated that rainfall of such intensity was expected.
The deaths of the mother and daughter have now turned what was already one of the most serious incidents from the weekend’s storms into a double tragedy for Roda de Berà.
Enjoying the news from Spain in English? Add us as a preferred news source in Google.
Subscribe to the Weekly Newsletter from Spain in English.
Mueren la mujer y su hija de 18 años que fueron golpeadas el sábado por un muro que se desplomó a causa de las intensas lluvias en Roda de Berà (Tarragona). https://t.co/0qpm8JsJLE pic.twitter.com/Feoq85303K
— EFE Noticias (@EFEnoticias) August 26, 2026
El meu sentit condol a la família i amistats de la mare i la filla que han perdut la vida a conseqüència dels aiguats del passat cap de setmana a Roda de Berà.
— Salvador Illa Roca (@salvadorilla) August 26, 2026
Una notícia que ens colpeja profundament. Tot el meu suport en aquests moments tan dolorosos.
⚫️ La tragèdia de Roda de Berà obre el debat sobre l’ús de l’Es-Alert.
— RTVE Notícies (@rtvenoticies) August 26, 2026
📳 Ajuntament i Govern discrepen sobre si l’avís als mòbils s’hauria d’haver enviat abans de l’arribada del temporal | @Claraa_Sedano
➕ Info: https://t.co/bzGGBezbW1 pic.twitter.com/BylbDusXFS
Click here to get your business activity or services listed on our DIRECTORY.