Severe weather strikes Spain again

Spain has once again been hit by devastating weather as torrents of water raged through the streets.

The Costa del Sol region of southern Spain has been hit hard in recent days. Thousands of people have been evacuated, with Málaga the worst affected.

A red alert was put in force around Málaga and Valencia on Wednesday 13th November, in advance of the heavy rain.

Universities and hospitals in the city were submerged under water. Non-urgent operations were postponed and workers had to help remove the water from the hospital.

On Thursday 14th November, schools were still closed and classes were suspended in five provinces.

Public transport is not running in many places and a railway station in the city was also evacuated due to the heavy rainfall.

Authorities urged people to stay indoors. The torrential downpours caused streams and rivers to burst their banks, with the risk of some very strong currents.

Unlike the floods two weeks ago, an emergency plan is now in place and the army is also ready to intervene. In the floods two weeks ago, 223 people were killed and dozens are still missing.

Although the peak of the rain has passed, heavy rain and thunderstorms will continue sweeping across parts of Spain and Portugal to end the week, and flooding will continue to worsen.