One dead, two missing in southern Spain as torrential rains cause flash floods

VALENCIA, Dec 28 (Reuters) – Torrential rains flooded Spain’s southern and eastern provinces over the weekend, with one person dead and two missing on Sunday evening as overflowing riverbeds swept away cars and motorcycles and authorities warned residents to stay indoors.

In Valencia, where deadly floods in October last year killed over 220 people and caused billions of euros in damage, authorities issued red alert warnings to people’s phones on Sunday evening urging them to stay indoors and on high ground.

Eight other provinces were on orange alert, warning citizens of serious risks to themselves or property and to be prepared for worsening conditions.

The heavy rains in Valencia last year caught authorities off guard, with many blaming local and national officials for warning people of the danger too late, eventually prompting the leader of the region to resign.

In Malaga, Spain’s Civil Guard found the body of a man whose van was swept away by an overflowing riverbed on Sunday, according to a post on their X account. A second passenger of the van was still missing.

Emergency teams were also searching for a young person in Granada who was swept away trying to cross a riverbed on a motorcycle, according to state news agency EFE.

In Barcelona, Catalonia, a woman was hospitalised on Saturday after being hit by a lamppost torn down by 70-kilometre-per-hour winds, the regional government’s civil protection agency told Europa Press.

(Reporting by Victoria Waldersee, Editing by William Maclean)