Catalonia braces for heavy rain and possible flooding over the weekend

The Meteorological Service of Catalonia (Meteocat) has issued a red alert for intense rainfall on Saturday in the counties of Maresme, Vallès Oriental and La Selva, warning that more than 40 mm of rain could fall in just 30 minutes.

The red alert will be in force from 2pm to 8pm on Saturday.

After that, the warning level will drop to yellow in La Selva and orange in Maresme and Vallès Oriental, with the alerts remaining in place until the early hours of Sunday.

All three counties are also under an orange alert for rainfall accumulation over three hours, with more than 90 mm potentially falling during that period.

Civil Protection will send a mobile phone alert on Saturday morning warning of locally intense rainfall in the Maresme, Vallès Oriental and Selva counties, where Meteocat has issued red warnings.

The alert could be extended to other coastal and pre-coastal areas if forecasts worsen.

Meteocat director Sarai Sarroca described the forecast as a typical autumn Mediterranean storm, different from the tropical system that caused severe flooding two weeks ago.

However, she warned that torrential downpours could still occur locally, urging people to take precautions.

Civil Protection activated Catalonia’s Inuncat flood emergency plan on Thursday evening in response to forecasts of heavy rain over the weekend, particularly on Saturday afternoon and evening.

Rain is expected mainly in the eastern half of Catalonia from midday on Saturday. Showers could be intense in inland, pre-coastal and coastal areas during the afternoon before becoming more concentrated near the coast in the evening.

Orange alerts for intense rainfall over 30 minutes will also be in force from 2pm to 8pm on Saturday in Vallès Occidental, Barcelonès, Gironès, Pla de l’Estany and Garrotxa.

From 8pm until the early hours of Sunday, the orange alerts will cover Vallès Oriental, Vallès Occidental, Maresme, Barcelonès, Baix Llobregat, Garraf, Baix Penedès, Osona, Bages, Moianès, Berguedà and Lluçanès.

The risk is expected to ease from Sunday morning.

Civil Protection has urged the public to avoid unnecessary travel during periods of heavy rain and to keep away from rivers, streams, ravines and other flood-prone areas.

It also warns against crossing flooded sections of road or other areas where water has accumulated, whether on foot or by vehicle, and advised against parking in streambeds or flood-prone underground areas.