Barcelona is facing a red alert warning for dangerous torrential train, with part of the city, including the airport, beginning to flood.
Spain’s transport minister Oscar Puente announced a crisis committee has been set up to monitor the impact at the airport – with 50 flights diverted so far.
Local authorities have issued an alert for “continuous and torrential rains”.
Footage from the city showed the runway at El Prat airport completely submerged as the few planes left on the tarmac were forced to sludge through several inches of flood water.
It comes as a British couple who went missing after flash flooding hit their hometown outside Valencia have been found dead.
Terry, 78, and Don Turner, 74, from Staffordshire, had not been seen since Tuesday, when heavy downpours flooded their hometown of Pedralba, a 45-minute drive northwest of the east coast city of Valencia.
The couple’s daughter, Ruth O’Loughlin, confirmed to the BBC that her parents’ bodies were found in their car on Saturday. The couple moved to Spain about 10 years ago. Daughter Ruth said they had “always wanted to live in the sunshine”.
50 cars recovered in Aldaia municipality
Police spokesman Ricardo Gutierrez told reporters that so far some 50 vehicles had been found in the Aldaia municipality, and no bodies had been discovered there.
He said soldiers, police and firefighters, some wearing wetsuits, searched a huge shopping centre’s underground car park for possible victims. They used a small boat and spotlights to move around in the huge structure with vehicles submerged in at least 3ft of murky water.
Rachel Hagan4 November 2024 13:02
Spanish army arrives in Valencia – picture
Tom Watling4 November 2024 13:01
Crashing waves in a hilltop village: Spain’s night of terror
Tom Watling4 November 2024 12:44
Protests in Valencia planned for Saturday
Unions and leftwing cultural associations have announced a protest in Valencia on Saturday to call for regional president Carlos Mazon, of the conservative People’s Party, to step down.
A daily protest in Madrid outside the headquarters of Sanchez’s Socialist party drew more people on Sunday, about 600, due to anger over the floods, according to El Pais newspaper.
Opposition politicians accused the left-wing central government of acting too slowly to warn residents and send in rescuers, while Madrid has said regional authorities were responsible for civil protection.
Rachel Hagan4 November 2024 12:43
People clear mud from a street in Valencia after mass flooding
Tom Watling4 November 2024 12:27
Rescuers find no casualties so far in Valencia’s underground shopping mall car park
Spanish rescue teams have not found any casualties so far in Valencia’s Bonaire shopping mall underground car park, the interior ministry said on Monday.
The parking was flooded during the country’s worst flash floods in modern history last week that left at least 217 people dead.
The ministry said work was continuing in the parking lot, which has 5,700 parking spaces, to find out if there may be fatalities.
Rescue teams are now focusing their efforts on underground car parks, garages and basements that were flooded within hours.
Tom Watling4 November 2024 12:15
Valencia residents observe minute of silence for those killed in flooding
Tom Watling4 November 2024 12:08
Further footage shows extent of flooding in Barcelona airport
Tom Watling4 November 2024 12:00
Heavy rain hits Barcelona area
The Spanish municipality of Gava just outside of Barcelona has suffered severe flooding as extreme weather hits the Catalonia area, footage has shown.
Tom Watling4 November 2024 11:50
Dozens of Barcelona flights cancelled amid flooding
Spain’s airport operator has cancelled 50 flights at El Prat airport amid rainstorms in Barcelona.
Previously, they had cancelled just 15.
Tom Watling4 November 2024 11:48
