Six die as floods hit south Spain

At least eight people have died after heavy rains triggered flash floods in southern Spain, officials have said.

Spain’s weather agency said that up to 245 litres (65 gallons) of water per square metre had fallen on Friday morning alone

Among the victims were an elderly woman and a young girl.

The strength of the floods overturned cars, closed roads, damaged homes and forced hundreds to leave their properties.

The hardest hit areas were the provinces of Malaga and Almeria, and the Murcia region.

At least 600 people had to be evacuated from their homes in the Andalucia region, which contains Malaga and Almeria, officials said.

Some 24.5 cm (9.6 in) of rain fell on Friday morning alone, according to Spain’s weather agency.

A regional government spokesperson in Malaga told AFP news agency the rains were decreasing and seemed to be shifting towards Granada and Almeria.

However, torrential rain and violent thunderstorms are predicted to continue in the south of the country over the weekend.

‘Hit hard’

The deaths of five adults and a child have been confirmed:

An elderly woman died when a river broke its banks and floodwater hit her home in Alora, north of Malaga

Three people died in Almeria

Three adults and a nine-year old girl were killed in Murcia

Caroline Zartash-Lloyd, who runs a small hotel in Alora, told BBC News that her neighbours had lost livestock, including pigs, hens, horses and donkeys, which could be seen floating in the flood waters.

Local people would be hit particularly hard, she suggested, because it was a poor part of Spain with unemployment of 30% and few people could afford insurance.

“Cars were washed away and we lost a large bridge in Alora and another sizeable bridge in [the village of] El Valle de Abadeljais,” she said.

“The farmland was completely washed away, just after the farmers had stopped ploughing. Thankfully they had not started seeding. Many people have been left without electricity or phone lines.”

Ms Zartash-Lloyd praised the local authorities for their response to the crisis.

The heavy rains in parts of the south follow months of drought and high temperatures across Spain which triggered dozens of wildfires.

BBC