Torrential rain dumps more than 250mm in southern Catalonia

Catalonia has lifted its stay-at-home order in the Baix Ebre and Montsià counties, but is maintaining restrictions on interurban travel until 8pm as heavy rain continues to pose a serious risk of flooding.

Civil Protection had issued an ES-Alert advising people to stay indoors as torrential overnight rainfall caused urban flooding and swollen ravines in the two counties.

The Meteorological Service of Catalonia (Meteocat) has extended its level 5 out of 6 rainfall-intensity warning until the evening.

18 vehicle rescues 

Catalan firefighters carried out 18 rescues of people trapped in vehicles on Friday morning, mainly in the Alcanar and Ulldecona areas, inspector Oriol Corbella said from the command centre in Tortosa.

Firefighters have handled 128 emergency calls across the Terres de l'Ebre during the weather emergency. 

In addition to the vehicle rescues, Corbella said firefighters had also assisted other people who became trapped in buildings, including at least one person with reduced mobility.

No injuries have been reported, Corbella said.

In coordination with the Red Cross and town councils, Civil Protection has also set up three reception centers in Tortosa, Ulldecona and Amposta for those possibly affected by the rain.

The C-12 highway is closed between Tortosa and Roquetes, along with five other local roads in the Freginals, Ulldecona and Mas de Barberans area.

The affected roads are the T-1025 between Mas de Barberans and Santa Bàrbara, the T-331 from Freginals to Tortosa, the TP-3311 from La Galera to La Sénia, the TP-3318 from Alcanar to Ulldecona, and the TV-3421 from Mas de Barberans to Roquetes. Civil Protection has also warned that sections of the AP-7 motorway may need to be closed at some point.

The 112 emergency line received 242 calls, resulting in 169 incident files, by 6 am. 

Meanwhile, 1,231 customers remain without electricity in Deltebre and Roquetes, down from a peak of around 6,000, and some municipalities have closed schools and public facilities as a precaution.

Deltebre Mayor, Lluís Soler, described the night as "intense" and said about 452 people have been affected by power outages. He noted that, beyond the loss of power, the outages cut residents off from communication. 

He said that this is a "recurring" problem that arises "at the slightest storm," and once again "vehemently" demanded that Endesa, the electricity company, take appropriate measures to prevent it and ensure the infrastructure is up to date. 

Schools, municipal facilities and municipal activities in Deltebre will remain closed Friday.

Warning for rainfall intensity

Meteocat issued a level 6 out of 6 warning for rainfall intensity, in effect from 6:20 am to 9:20 am, due to the potential for rainfall exceeding 90mm within three hours in the Baix Ebre and Montsià areas.

Meteocat warned that weather conditions remain difficult in the area and are expected to stay that way over the coming hours, driven by a wind pattern that is fueling the development of new storms moving inland from the Mediterranean Sea.

Sarai Sarroca, director of Meteocat, said the amounts recorded so far are very significant and that totals are expected to rise further in the coming hours.

Sarroca stressed that the main warnings, covering both the 40mm in half an hour and 90mm in three hours thresholds, are active for Montsià and Baix Ebre, though this does not mean it will not rain elsewhere. 

She noted that rain is also expected to continue in the Ponent counties in western Catalonia and the Camp de Tarragona area, where it may also be intense but of a "much more localized" nature. 

In Baix Ebre and Montsià, by contrast, the rain will be fairly continuous "right up until two in the afternoon."

There might be a lull in the Ebre region during the afternoon, but rain is likely to pick up again toward evening and continue until Saturday morning. From then on, "more scattered" rainfall is possible, especially along the coast, persisting through Sunday. 

Imma Solé, deputy director of Civil Protection, strongly urged caution, explaining that the ground cannot absorb all the falling water, which is seeking its own course.

"We ask for great vigilance: use main roads and avoid country lanes or areas that might have fords," she said.

Rainfall totals

The heaviest rain has dumped more than 250mm in parts of the Terres de l'Ebre region in southern Catalonia since Thursday.

L'Ametlla de Mar, in Baix Ebre, recorded 264mm between Thursday and midday on Friday, according to Meteocat.

It had the highest rainfall total among Meteocat's monitoring stations.

Les Cases d'Alcanar, in Montsià, recorded 237mm, while Mas de Barberans, also in Montsià, received 227mm.

El Perelló, in Baix Ebre, recorded 224mm over 36 hours.

 

Other parts of the Terres de l'Ebre also recorded more than 100mm of rain since Thursday, including l'Aldea, with 128mm, Illa de Buda, with 119mm, and Aldover, with 103mm.