Thousands evacuated in Spain as residents cover cars in plastic wrap – just two weeks after floods killed 220
Spain’s national weather service has issued alerts for strong or torrential rains along much of its Mediterranean coast as some of Malaga’s mains streets started flooding this afternoon.
Thousands of people have been evacuated from their homes in the Costa del Sol as storms are set to bring fresh misery to parts of southern Spain.
More than 220 people were killed in the country’s worst floods in modern history just two weeks ago, with homes and buildings destroyed and streets turned to rivers of mud.
Now, people are covering their cars in plastic wrap and anchoring them to lamp posts as part of efforts to prepare for more flooding.
Authorities have issued a red alert for heavy rain in the Costa del Sol, with areas around Malaga and Granada also subject to warnings that up to 180 millimetres (7 inches) could fall in 12 hours.
Winds of up to 74 mph (119 kmph) and high seas were also predicted for Tarragona, Barcelona and Murcia.
National weather office AEMET also placed parts of Catalonia in northeast Spain on a red alert, with areas along the coast in Tarragona at high risk of “very strong to torrential rain”.
Videos on social media showed deep water filling some of Malaga’s main streets this afternoon as residents were told to stay at home.
Police closed roads, bus lines across the city were suspended along with some high-speed trains, and parts of Malaga airport were underwater.
Staff at the Hospital Clinico were filmed wading through water after the laboratory area flooded.
Meanwhile, people living close to the Campanillas River were told to leave their homes as the water began to rise.
Earlier, 3,000 homes were evacuated as a precaution on the banks of the Guadalhorce River.
In the tourist resort of Marbella, a waterspout was seen moving for several minutes through the sea just off the coast.
The opening tie of the Billie Jean King Cup Finals tennis event between Spain and Poland was also postponed because of the storms.
Previously flood-hit areas around Valencia were issued a less severe weather warning prompting some schools to close until Friday.
Thousands of workers are still removing mud and debris that has accumulated on the roads and clogged sewage pipes and drains in towns around Valencia after the recent deadly floods.
There were fears the mud-filled sewers would struggle to cope even if the new downpours weren’t as torrential.
As the new weather front moved in, authorities confirmed the bodies of two young brothers who went missing when floods hit their home in October had been found.
Ruben and Izan Matias, aged 3 and 5, were discovered in separate locations near Catarroja, almost six miles downstream from their house in Torrent, according to the Civil Guard.
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It comes after thousands of people marched in Valencia over the weekend to demand the resignation of the region’s president following the response to the devastating flooding.
Protesters filled the centre of the eastern Spanish city and chanted “killers!” as they called for Carlos Mazon to go, while others dumped muddy boots outside a regional government building.
One banner read: “Our hands are stained with mud, yours with blood.”
