Heavy rain lashes Spain after deadly floods

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Spain closed schools and evacuated residents as heavy rains lashed the country on Wednesday, two weeks after the worst floods in a generation killed more than 200 people.

National weather agency AEMET placed the southern province of Malaga and the northeastern region of Catalonia on red alert – the highest level – due to heavy rainfall expected to continue until Friday.

It is forecast that as much as 180 millimeters (7 inches) of rain could fall in just 12 hours if a red alert is issued.

Less heavy rain is also expected in the flood-hit eastern Valencia region, but local officials warned that with sewers clogged with mud they could struggle to cope.

The October 29 storm killed 223 people, mainly in the Valencia region. Infrastructure was destroyed, buildings were destroyed and fields were flooded. The final bill is expected to amount to tens of billions of euros.

“There is nothing left to lose now,” Carlos Molto, a resident of the Picanya suburb of Valencia city, told local television station A Punt.

According to local newspaper Las Provincias, parts of the city of Paiporta, one of the worst affected locations, have been flooded again after a massive clean-up operation.

Many people had barricaded their homes with planks or sandbags to protect them from further flooding.

The rain also closed schools and universities in large parts of Valencia, the southern region of Andalusia and Catalonia.

Malaga’s town hall said it had ordered the evacuation of houses on the banks of the local Campanillas river due to the risk of flooding.

The start of the Billie Jean King Cup tennis final between Spain and Poland in the southern city was also postponed on Wednesday.

The regional governments of Andalusia and Catalonia sent emergency alerts to mobile phones warning people to be careful.

Critics have questioned the effectiveness of the warning system in the Valencia region during the October downpour, which in some cases only reached residents’ phones when water was already flowing through the towns.

Outrage against authorities for their alleged mismanagement before and after the floods led to mass protests on Saturday. The largest, in the city of Valencia, attracted 130,000 people.

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