Panic in Spain as Brits 'stuck inside' in holiday hotspot hit by torrential rain
EXCLUSIVE: Brits holidaying in Valencia have said they were stuck inside for 24 hours after the city was hit by heavy rain, following deadly floods last year.
Not even a year after the devastating flash floods that killed over 220 people in the region, heavy rains descended on Spain's Valencia. Spain's state meteorological agency issued a red alert — its highest level — for Sunday and Monday as Storm Gabrielle threatened to dump torrential rain across the east of the country.
More than half a million students in the city had lessons cancelled on Monday, after over 240 local councils in the region closed their schools as a precaution. Footage shared on social media shows floodwater in parts of Valencia and Zaragoza, in the neighbouring Aragon region. Spain's state meteorological agency AEMET said between 160 and 200mm of rain had fallen in six to eight hours around the Ebro delta. The Express spoke to one Brit in Valencia, Andrew Parris, who is holidaying there with his partner. On Tuesday morning (September 30), he said the rain had been pouring since Monday and that they had not been outside for 24 hours.
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Valencia: Heavy rain leads to flooding in Spanish city
In a later update, he said they finally got outside and that blue skies had returned, but were met with scenes of flooded pathways and roads and strong winds.
On Sunday afternoon, Valencians received an emergency alert on their mobile phones from the Civil Protection agency, sent through the ES-Alert system, warning of extreme danger. The agency advised that the safest thing to do was to avoid unnecessary travel and that people should stay at home. It added that under no circumstances should people try to cross flooded areas, streets or tunnels, as they can become death traps in a matter of seconds, as happened during the deadly DANA storm of October 29 last year.
Torrential rain caused by an isolated low-pressure area at high levels brought over a year's worth of rain to several areas in eastern Spain nearly a year ago, including Valencia and Andalusia. The resulting floodwaters caused the deaths of about 232 people. Half of the fatalities were aged over 60, while nine were children. Many victims were trapped in their cars in underground garages due to the rapid rise in water levels.
It was one of the deadliest natural disasters in Spanish history. Poor preparation and disaster response by the regional and national governments are also said to have aggravated the human cost of the event, especially in Valencia.
Across Valencia, 1,800 businesses were destroyed and 4,500 others were damaged. Three days of mourning were declared nationwide, from October 31 to November 2. King Felipe VI, Queen Letizia, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and Generalitat Valenciana President Carlos Mazón visited the Valencia region to assess the damage and meet with those impacted on November 3.
However, they were met with protests from locals and volunteers, who hurled mud and chanted "murderers". Many also called for both Sanchez and Mazon's resignation.
