One dead as heavy rain hits Catalonia

Heavy rain fell on parts of Catalonia overnight and into Thursday morning, leaving one person dead, disrupting public transportation, and flooding a campsite.

The Fire Brigade recovered the body of a man Thursday morning whose vehicle was swept away by the Begues stream in Olivella, just south of Barcelona. The body was located about 500 meters from where the vehicle was. 

The Catalan police, the Mossos d'Esquadra, confirmed that the man, who was about 48 years old, was the driver of the vehicle. A witness told authorities that the man had gotten out of the car after it became trapped by the fast moving water before he was swept away by the current. Emergency services received the call about the incident at 11:03 pm.

Catalan President Salvador Illa expressed his condolences for the death of the driver in Olivella, and highlighted the emergency measures taken during the storm.

In an interview with Spanish public broadcaster RNE, Illa said Civil Protection sent an emergency alert to people’s phones in the areas affected by the storm.

"We must continue to prepare ourselves and generate a culture of self-protection," he said. Referring to climate change, the president pointed out, "this is here to stay."

Marta Verdejo, mayor of Olivella, said the vehicle became "caught" in the stream when it attempted to cross a bridge connecting the villages of Mas Mestre and Las Colinas. The bridge is the only crossing point in the area, she said, and water was already flowing over it at the time of the incident.

Verdejo urged caution because the circumstances of the incident remain under investigation. She said it is not yet known whether there was recklessness or if it was simply an accident.

An ES-Alert emergency warning was sent to residents at around 11 p.m., roughly when the fatal incident occurred, Verdejo said. She added that the Olivella town council had been issuing warnings throughout the day, particularly about the dangers posed by riverbeds and streams. 

Scale of storm

The fire department responded to 270 calls by 7 am Thursday, while the emergency telephone number, 112, received 1,116 calls for 687 incidents. The counties with the most calls were Barcelonès (716), Garraf (97), Baix Llobregat (73) and Vallès Occidental (66). 

In Stiges, the left bank of the Ribera de Ribes flooded part of a campsite, forcing around 270 campers to evacuate. Many returned home or relocated to a nearby campsite. 

According to Civil Protection, 57.4mm of rain fell in Sant Pere de Ribes in just 30 minutes, while 85.6mm fell in Canylles in three hours.

Barcelona Metro disruptions

The heavy rain also caused widespread disruption to Barcelona's public transportation system.

On the Barcelona Metro, L4 was only operating between La Pau and Verdaguer, while L11 was only running between Trinitat Nova and Ciutat Meridiana. The central platform at Fabra i Puig on L1 was also out of service. 

The Rodalies network reported "point-by-point" speed limitations because of the weather, resulting in up to 30 minute delays. On the R4 line, a cable was stolen between Castellbisbal and Molins de Rei. 

On the Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat, trains on lines R6 and R60 were operating with delays of up to 25 minutes due to preventive speed reductions between Masquefa and La Pobla de Claramunt.