Schools suspended and roads block in southern Catalonia due to torrential rain

The Catalan education ministry has suspended schools in the southern counties of Montsià and Baix Ebre due to torrential rain, affecting around 25,000 students.

Civil protection issued a flooding and rain phone alert earlier on Monday morning.

The torrential rain also affected the electric system across several municipalities, according to Endesa. Mas de Barberans, with a population of around 500 people, lost its electric supply on Sunday at 10:40 pm, and did not return until Monday 10 am.

Difficulties to access the area complicated reparation works. During the morning, there were other issues in the area around La Ràpita impacting around one hundred people.

Amposta, one of the largest municipalities in terms of inhabitants in the area, registered 300 liters per square meter between Sunday midday and Monday midday. Experts registered up to 52.4 liters in just 30 minutes.

"In the lower area of the city, we suffer floods three times per year," Marc Conesa, one of the affected neighbors, told the Catalan News Agency (ACN). "As water pours down the street, the main water ditch overflows and water enters our warehouse," he added.

Conesa said that as floods are common in the area, residents normally have "all the material raised by half a meter." He added that "water floods the area as if it were a large lake. We are a little bit exhausted."

Adam Tomàs, Amposta mayor, said that they will request authorities to declare the area as catastrophic zone. He spoke with Catalan president Salvador Illa, who he urged to "help" the area as they are still pending on funding to fix storms from 2024.

Water also entered the CAP primary health care center, where they normally register floods.

Meanwhile, Mas de Barberans recorded 216 liters per square meter, and many locations easily surpassed the 200 liters per square meter mark.

There were also warnings of potential flooding in the Pixadors, Vanaixarop, and Rocaborba areas in the county of Baix Ebre.

The Catalan interior minister, Núria Parlon, said that the "worst is now over," and that there have not been any major incidents.

Parlon spoke from Barcelona and said that residents in the southern Catalonia area followed the rules thoroughly. Later in the day, authorities lifted the restriction with the idea of schools resuming on Tuesday.

She warned that "when it rains on a wet floor, it is important to remain vigilant," Parlon said on Monday morning.

The 112 emergency phone number registered 130 calls until Monday midday, and several roads were blocked to traffic. On Monday afternoon, all roads in the Ebre area reopened.

Meanwhile, Spain's national weather agency had issued a red warning from 8 pm on Sunday for water accumulation along the coast of Tarragona.

The heavy rains are linked to the remnants of Hurricane Gabrielle, an extratropical storm, that moved across many parts of Spain.