Almería in southeast Spain has been hit with up to 70 litres of rainfall which fell in a matter of minutes, flooding roads and dragging away cars, as the country braces for another DANA storm that will leave plenty of heavy rain.

Spain is being hit with another 'DANA' storm which is already causing torrential rain and flooding in the southern Andalusian province of Almería.

Following the forecast from Spain's state meteorological agency (Aemet) on Monday, pre-emergency phase protocols were activated due to the risk of flooding in the province. In the early afternoon, a yellow alert was declared, which was then changed to orange in the evening.


At the Dalías-Los Hornillos weather station, 74.1mm of rain had been recorded by 5.15 pm, downpours which lasted only a few minutes according to the Meteorological Association of Southeast Spain (Ametse) and caused a deluge given the sheer volume of water.

The areas of El Ejido, Vícar, Roquetas de Mar, Almería city and Balanegra were the municipalities most affected on Monday.


The downpours caused flooding on roads and in buildings. In particular, Spanish media reports that large pools of water have accumulated on major roads such as the A-7, which was closed in some areas, and flooded properties in the Poniente area of the province.


Videos shared on social media show torrential downpours in areas such as Aguadulce.

Three people had to be rescued from their vehicles in Vícar. According to Emergencias 112 Andalucía, the people rescued had been trapped under the Culebra bridge.


Severe rain in the Balanegra area has caused the outflows of the Los Infantes and Balanegra ravines to rise, causing several overflows in areas where the rivers converge.

Nuria Rodríguez, mayor of Balanegra, told local newspaper Diario de Almería that "the council has activated the local emergency plan and the authorities have taken preventive measures to control access to the ravines and minimise the risk to the population"

"Maintenance work is already being carried out on the affected roads to restore traffic as soon as possible," she added.

Rain has also been particularly heavy in Vícar, where 38.2mm was recorded in La Envía.

According to Aemet forecasts for Almería, heavy rains will continue on Tuesday afternoon and evening, last throughout the whole of Wednesday, and then begin to slow from Thursday morning and early afternoon.
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