Torrential rain in Spain has claimed another life, pushing the death toll from heavy rain and flooding over the past 15 days to five, authorities said.
The latest victim, a 35-year-old woman, was swept away in Cabrera de Mar, about 27km north of Barcelona, on Sunday night as she tried to cross a river with her children.
Óscar Fernández, the mayor of Cabrera de Mar, told reporters the woman had attended a basketball match where people were urged not to leave the municipal facility because of the downpour.
As the storm intensified, roads were shut and train services scaled back. Catalan authorities also warned residents to avoid unnecessary travel and to stay away from waterways as rivers and streams rose rapidly.
Heavy rain impacted roads in Cádiz, Spain
Rescue teams later located the woman’s body in the sea, according to the Civil Protection Service.
Scientists say flooding is becoming more frequent across Europe as climate change warms the atmosphere, allowing it to hold more moisture and intensify rainfall.
Spain, in particular, has faced repeated bouts of severe weather.
Valencia and Alicante in the southeast, along with Almeria in the south, have also been hit by torrential rains that flooded homes, swept away cars and forced road closures.
“It started raining, it was fast. This stream carried a lot of water and it filled up really fast. The problem was that there were cars in the middle of the highway. It washed them away,” Beatriz Mendoza, who owns a commercial greenhouse in Almeria which was destroyed by the rain, told Canalsur, a local television station.
Heavy rainfall in the Campo de Gibraltar region caused flooding in Algeciras
Spain has seen deadly flooding this year beyond Catalonia. In August, torrential rain triggered flooding and a landslide that killed two elderly women near Pontevedra in rural northwestern Spain, as seven regions were placed on yellow alert for storms and heavy rain.
That episode came after weeks of record high temperatures, conditions that also helped set the stage for a series of devastating wildfires.
