Hail, high gusts, flash floods, and heavy rains have battered Spanish tourists from the UK. Photos taken in Costa Blanca show cities underwater, rivers overflowing, and rapid water rushing across fields and spilling into roadways.
Alicante and Valencia provinces are part of the Valencian community, which has seen hailstones fall so far, and more are expected to fall today. Benidorm has been placed on a yellow storm alert, meaning that there is a 100% chance of rain. In southern Murcia, roadways have become raging streams, and pictures show visitors and residents alike standing ankle-deep in water on the main street as people duck and dodge water outside stores while some seek shelter inside.
As of Monday night, emergency response personnel had recorded more than 320 weather-related occurrences. Eastern Levante, Spain—a significant tourist destination for Britons—has been hit the worst. This region contains Valencia, Benidorm, Alicante, and Murcia. Particularly hit, according to reports, were the Valencian Community and the Murcian Region. Vehicles were stranded when more than 60 millimeters of rain fell in the Murcia area. Reports also surfaced of tree branches that had fallen across Murcia tram rails.
No injuries have been reported as of 10 p.m. last night, according to the Murcia Plaza outlet. Someone reportedly had to be rescued from a car.
A series of drownings in the Alicante region last week and over the weekend were attributed to poor sea conditions on the Costa Blanca, which occurred before this week’s floods. A 52-year-old British tourist who had gone to help two youngsters in distress at La Roqueta beach, north of Torrevieja, drowned on Friday. Another Polish guy, 46 years old, who attempted to save them also perished in the water.
Extreme flooding has occurred more than just in Spain this year; flash floods also ravaged Italy at the tail end of May. Tragically, three friends were washed away in a flash flood after they had a last hug in one tragic occurrence.
