Two weeks after flash floods caused destruction in eastern Spain, several parts of the country are on alert. A new weather front is expected to bring heavy rain and low temperatures.
The eastern and southern Mediterranean regions are again the most vulnerable, with Spain’s meteorological agency Aemet placing parts of the Valencia, Catalonia and Andalusia regions, as well as the Balearic Islands, under orange alert from now until Thursday.
Aemet warns of rainfall and storms that could be “very strong to severe”.
That orange alert is the second highest and signals a significant meteorological event “with a certain degree of danger to normal activities”.
A military vehicle drives through cities with a megaphone to warn of the expected storms.
Precautionary measures are being taken in many parts of Valencia, with school lessons and sports activities being suspended in some towns and sandbags being piled up to protect the center of Aldaia town.
However, this second “Dana” weather system is not expected to be as dramatic as the red alert on October 29, when the Valencia region in particular suffered unprecedented loss of life and property damage.
There were 222 confirmed deaths from the floods in Spain last month, and 23 people are still missing.
Dana weather systems form when an area of low pressure is “cut off” from the main flow of the jet stream. This means that instead of traveling through a region relatively quickly, they become blocked over the same area, leading to persistent rainfall for several days.
Colder air high in the atmosphere meets warmer air moving in from the Mediterranean Sea, intensifying the storm.
Heavy rainfall has already occurred in some areas this week.
Parts of Andalusia’s Almeria province were flooded on Monday night, temporarily closing part of the A7 motorway.
Emergency services rescued three people after their cars were dragged through floodwaters to a bridge in the town of Vícar.
Spain’s weather agency has advised people in areas under orange warning to stay away from ravines and waterways, even if they are dry, due to the risk of flooding.
The National Transport Agency (DGT) advised people in those areas to check road conditions before using vehicles.
King Felipe VI was due to visit a military base in Bétera in Valencia on Tuesday, where members of the armed forces are taking part in the ongoing search for missing persons and clean-up operation.
During an earlier visit to Valencia, the king, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and regional President Carlos Mazón were insulted, jostled and had mud thrown at them by people in the city of Paiporta, over the perceived lack of state aid in the aftermath of the crisis. the tragedy.
Mazón in particular is under increasing pressure over his government’s response the day the flash floods struck.
Dana weather systems are not uncommon in Spain; they typically occur about 10 to 20 times a year in the western Mediterranean.
This second Dana in a few weeks is not considered as extreme or slow as the Dana that hit Valencia in late October.
However, the wettest places – especially around Malaga and Granada – could see around 180mm of rain this week – about two months’ worth of rainfall in a few days. Large hail and strong winds also pose a danger.
The first significant snowfall of the season is expected to hit the Cantabrian as well as the Sierra Morena mountains and the Central and Betic ranges, as colder air moves across the peninsula.
Strong gusts of wind will also accompany the mountain snow.
