One dead as torrential storms batter Spain’s Mediterranean coast, with red alerts activated in Murcia

The man died after his vehicle was swept away by a swollen stream in Olivella, in the Barcelona province of Catalonia, during the storms on Wednesday night.

Firefighters found his body around 500 metres from where the vehicle had been located. Emergency services had initially been searching for a woman after a witness reported seeing someone leave the stranded car before being carried away by the water, but the Catalan police, the Mossos d’Esquadra, later confirmed that the victim was the male driver.

The death came during a night of exceptionally intense rainfall across parts of Catalonia and the Valencia region, with flooding affecting roads, public transport, airports and other infrastructure.

By Thursday morning, however, the most serious weather warnings had moved further south. Spain’s state weather agency AEMET activated red warnings — its highest level — in parts of the Murcia region, including Campo de Cartagena and Mazarrón, after exceptionally heavy rainfall.

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez urged people affected by the storms to ‘follow the recommendations of the emergency services and consult official sources’.

Flooding and transport disruption in Barcelona

Barcelona and surrounding areas were among the places worst affected on Wednesday, with authorities briefly activating the highest red weather warning because of the risk of flash flooding.

More than 850 calls were made to Catalonia’s emergency services, generating over 500 incidents.

Flooding affected parts of Barcelona’s metro network, buses were diverted and regional train services suffered disruption. Water also entered a storage area at the Vall d’Hebron Hospital.

Flights were badly affected at Barcelona-El Prat Airport, where more than 20 services were reportedly cancelled and others delayed.

ES-Alert emergency messages were sent to mobile phones in affected areas, advising residents to avoid unnecessary journeys and take particular care around rivers, streams and other areas vulnerable to sudden flooding.

Valencia hit by exceptionally intense rainfall

The Valencia region was also battered by severe storms, with extraordinary amounts of rain falling within very short periods.

Weather monitoring organisation Avamet recorded more than 70 litres per square metre in just 30 minutes in several municipalities, describing the intensity as highly unusual.

Emergency services dealt with hundreds of incidents across Valencia province, many involving flooding, water entering properties, fallen objects and traffic disruption.

Valencia’s metro network was suspended as the storms intensified, while the city’s airport was temporarily closed. Twelve incoming flights were diverted to other airports, including Alicante.

The torrential rain also forced Wednesday night’s La Liga match between Levante and Athletic Bilbao to be postponed. Players had already emerged to warm up before conditions deteriorated, leaving the pitch waterlogged and water entering the players’ tunnel.

Thousands of lightning strikes were also recorded across the Valencia region during the height of the storms.

The scenes inevitably revived memories of the catastrophic DANA floods of October 2024, which killed more than 230 people, most of them in Valencia province. Click here for all our reports related to the Valencia Floods.

Conditions in Valencia had become calmer by Thursday morning, although weather warnings remained in force elsewhere along the Mediterranean coast.

Red warnings in Murcia as storms move south

Attention shifted towards the Murcia region on Thursday, where AEMET raised its warning to red — indicating an extraordinary level of danger — in some areas as further torrential downpours developed.

Campo de Cartagena and Mazarrón were among the areas placed under the maximum warning after more than 60 litres per square metre reportedly fell in less than an hour in parts of the region.

Schools have been closed in numerous municipalities as a precaution, while residents have been advised to avoid unnecessary journeys and stay away from flood-prone areas, watercourses and ravines.

Preventive measures have also been introduced in the southern Alicante province.

Orihuela City Council suspended classes throughout Orihuela Costa for Thursday, as well as markets and outdoor leisure, recreational and sporting activities across the municipality.

The council urged residents to ‘exercise maximum caution’, avoid unnecessary travel and not attempt to cross rivers, ravines, fords or flooded areas.

Classes were also suspended in Elche and Santa Pola for part of Thursday, while Torrevieja closed parks and gardens and cancelled outdoor activities.

Emergency alerts in Almería

The severe weather has extended further south into Andalusia, with an ES-Alert sent to mobile phones in the eastern Almería province late on Wednesday warning of heavy rain and thunderstorms.

Residents were advised to exercise extreme caution and avoid unnecessary travel.

Antonio Sanz, the regional government’s minister responsible for emergencies, urged people to follow official instructions and call the 112 emergency number when necessary.

‘Exercise maximum caution. Avoid unnecessary travel, follow the instructions from emergency services and call 112 in case of emergency,’ he said. ‘Don’t take any chances.’

Parts of the Balearic Islands, including Mallorca, have also experienced heavy rainfall as the unsettled weather affects much of Spain’s Mediterranean area.

AEMET continued to warn on Thursday of the possibility of very heavy showers and thunderstorms around the Valencia and Murcia coasts as the storm system moved across eastern and southeastern Spain.