"We had never seen anything like it." Residents of the Font del Gos neighborhood in Barcelona were still observing with disbelief this Tuesday morning the devastation that the weekend's downpour caused in the area. From the mountain of mud under which the asphalt of Carrer Torrent de Cal Notari has disappeared, they relived what they defined as one of the most dramatic nights experienced in the area. On the night from Saturday to Sunday, firefighters had to arrive by boat to their homes to rescue six families in danger due to the rising of the torrent. Some were already waiting perched on the roof of their houses, the only place the water did not yet cover.

Overflowing dumpsters and trash piled up on public roads are now more common than ever on Joaquim Costa street, in the heart of the Raval. Neighbors and merchants claim that this is a situation that has been dragging on since the Barcelona City Council installed 27 pneumatic collection bins there and that it is seriously affecting the commercial life of this street full of businesses. They agree that the rotating hatch system "cannot keep up" with the amount of waste that is dumped there. Although it is not a new problem, they report that it has worsened with the work currently being done on the pavement and are demanding solutions from the municipal government, which is in charge of waste management.

Showers and storms are giving no respite, and today they will reappear in many regions. In fact, a large part of the country is on alert for this new wave of heavy rain that will take place mainly during the afternoon. In the morning there will be a break in the rain, although some initial showers will already fall in the south. Unlike recent days, the precipitation will arrive initially through the Ebre and Ponent areas, subsequently spreading towards the east and also reaching the coast, where some downpours will be repeated until nightfall. And the weather will not clear up in the coming days.

Journalist Toni Soler explained on Instagram that he is leaving Barcelona's Gothic Quarter after 25 years. "We feel somewhat driven out of a neighborhood that has increasingly surrendered to tourism monoculture. Where it is difficult to be a Barcelonian and Catalan and feel at home," he says. The journalist argues that "the Gothic Quarter is full of neighbors who love the neighborhood and deserve for the city to respond to their commitment."

A new week begins that will once again be marked by unstable weather throughout our Mediterranean area. The truth is that the rain and downpours on the coast and pre-coastal areas this Monday morning are much more significant than initially forecast. The most affected region is the Vallès Oriental, where more than 100 l/m² have already fallen in a short time in some cases. In Granollers, for example, more than 80 l/m² have fallen in just one hour. Since it is raining on wet ground, all of this has caused serious flooding, and a risk of rivers and streams overflowing. For this reason, confinement has been requested in this region. Meteocat has activated a red alert for the entire coast and pre-coastal area of Barcelona and La Selva due to intense rain. More than 40 l/m² can accumulate in half an hour, or more than 90 in three hours.

Having a powerful residential stock at an affordable price requires not only financial resources, which it does, but also consistency and continuity in policies, according to the different models and strategies regarding housing in the European Union (EU). Paris, the city of light, has 17 times more social housing per 1,000 inhabitants than Barcelona, according to data on this type of property in both cities. Maintaining this proportion, since the municipality of the French capital has around 22% more inhabitants than the Catalan capital, in the former there are 127 social apartments per 1,000 inhabitants compared to 7.6 in Barcelona, although in recent years the drive for this type of housing has increased.

The red alert remains activated due to the episode of torrential rain in the coastal, pre-coastal and northeastern regions of the country. An extraordinary convective mesoscale system has generated torrential rains, especially in the pre-coastal and central coastal areas, with accumulated amounts until 10 a.m. this morning of 288 l/m² in Vilassar de Mar, 255 l/m² in Mataró (Can Canyelles) or 248 l/m²in Granollers. Ultimately, the medicane (Mediterranean mini-hurricane) did not form, but, as the models indicated, the accumulated rainfall amounts have been historic. Notable are the 68 l/m² that fell this morning in just half an hour in Granollers, a figure of extraordinary torrential intensity. In Pineda de Mar, several rescues were carried out in ground floor homes and vehicles submerged by water, and in the city of Barcelona (Can Bruixa), the record for accumulated precipitation in 24 hours (data since 1914) was broken, with a total of 202 l/m².

Until recently, the main impact that rain had on the Barcelona metro network was the eternal leaks at the Diagonal station on line 3 and the wood shavings used to dry them. In recent weeks, however, the downpours that have fallen on the Catalan capital have caused havoc in underground mobility. The heavy storms on September 16 and 29 dumped more than 100 liters in less than an hour in some parts of the city and forced the closure of stations on practically all metro lines, which left a good part of the city without service. A scenario that has forced TMB and the City Council to start working on measures to deal with storms that will become increasingly frequent.

Meteocat has activated a red alert –the highest possible– in view of the new episode of torrential rain expected in the coming hours in many counties of the coast, the pre-coastal areas, and the northeast of the country. Precipitation has already started to fall during the morning in the Ebro region, and throughout the day –especially in the afternoon– it will spread to many points of the coast, the pre-coastal areas, and the northern half of the country, with some downpours. It will be towards the night, the early hours, and Sunday morning when the peak of the storm is expected. With current maps, the rains could be intense and extraordinary in the northeast, the coast, and the pre-coastal area of Barcelona, with local accumulations that may exceed 200 or 300 l/m² in a few hours, strong winds, and extreme phenomena. Meteocat's alerts are for intense rain and accumulations of more than 40 l/m² in half an hour, 90 l/m² in three hours, and more than 200 l/m² in 24 hours.

The man investigated for serious abuse of his few-week-old baby has excused himself in court by saying he did not harm him voluntarily, and has opened the door to having harmed him without realizing it. "I am not aware of having harmed him," he said in a two-hour statement at the court that is investigating both him and the baby's mother for sexual assault, abuse, serious injury, and attempted homicide, because the injuries reached the point of posing a risk to life. At the same time, the man has exculpated the woman—from whom he has not divorced, but whom he referred to as his ex-partner—and has ruled out that she intentionally harmed the child. Both were arrested on March 18, and since then, the man has been in provisional prison, while the woman was released on provisional liberty in May. The man's defense will request his release again in the coming days.

The rainstorm affecting the Terres de l'Ebre since yesterday has already left more than 200 l/m² in some cases, as is the case in Santa Bàrbara (Montsià). Also noteworthy are the 138 l/m² in Alcanar. A lot of water has fallen in a few hours, often with torrential intensity, which has caused the sudden rise of rivers, streams, and ravines, and above all, flooding in these areas. In L'Ametlla de Mar (Baix Ebre), 108 l/m² have also been exceeded. And pay attention because the rain will intensify and continue falling in the same area during this Friday morning, even extending towards the Camp de Tarragona, where new downpours may occur. It has also rained heavily in many regions of Castellón and Valencia, where the episode has already left many records above 150 l/m². The Meteocat maintains warnings in the south of the country for intense rain that could leave more than 40 l/m² in just half an hour, or more than 90 l/m² in three hours. Also for accumulations of more than 200 l/m² in 24 hours. The alert is red in the Ebre and Castellón.

The new traffic regulation from the Directorate-General for Traffic (DGT) came into effect this Thursday amidst controversy. To the point that cities like Barcelona have initially defied one of its most controversial new features: making the coexistence of flashing yellow traffic lights for vehicles and green lights for pedestrians incompatible. A system present in no less than 1,550 intersections in the Catalan capital, where the flashing yellow allows vehicles to advance if at that moment they do not have to yield to any pedestrian crossing the street.

One of the great mysteries that has yet to be solved is what the Sagrada Família will finally look like, and we will still have to wait. At the end of June, the temple's Construction Board presented the board of trustees with the three artistic proposals from Miquel Barceló, Cristina Iglesias, and Javier Marín for the Glory façade, but for now, the debate remains wide open. To the point that, as ARA has learned, the president of the Construction Board, Esteve Camps, has sent a letter to the three artists informing them that the temple needs "more time" to make a decision.

This Thursday we will have to be very attentive to the sky again. October begins today with an increase in instability, as showers and thunderstorms will gain ground irregularly in several regions. The main event is expected from midday and during the afternoon, when torrential downpours may occur. The areas most affected will be the Terres de l'Ebre, Castellón, and the coast of Valencia, where between today—especially from the evening onwards—and tomorrow, a period of significant, intense, and persistent rain is expected. The accumulations will be significant and may locally exceed 200 l/m² throughout the episode, with sudden downpours and a risk of flooding. Aemet has activated a red alert in these areas, with extraordinary accumulations that may exceed 150 l/m² in just six hours. However, Meteocat has also placed the Camp de Tarragona, the Penedès, and the Garraf on red alert due to the afternoon downpours.

Yesterday it rained very hard and there were floods in ground floors, basements and the whole works. In Barcelona too, and that is despite the luck we have with the fifteen tanks that collect rainwater, six of which filled up almost to the top. The metro was hit hard, so that in the afternoon, hours later, there were still sections without service.

I read that Ada Colau, former mayor of Barcelona, has had to leave her apartment because she cannot make ends meet. She is separated and has two children.

This Tuesday brings the peak of the instability, with a round of downpours and storms that is leaving behind the classic torrential rains of late summer and early autumn, further fueled by sea water that is warmer than it should be. At dawn, it already began to rain in some regions, especially in the center and south of the country, and throughout the morning the bulk of the precipitation has been concentrating on the coast and pre-coast of Barcelona. Where it has rained the most so far is between the south of Anoia, Alt Penedès, and Garraf, with some local accumulations of more than 90 or 100 l/m² in just three hours, which has caused rivers and streams to rise suddenly. This is the case of the Anoia river, which has reached the danger threshold, with a flow that has suddenly risen to 93 m³/s. In these areas, an alert has been sent due to the risk of flooding.

The L9 tunnel boring machine is no longer the only one inhabiting the subsoil of Barcelona. The great machine that is to build the L8 tunnel for the Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat is already assembled and ready to start operating, starting next week. This was confirmed today by the Minister of Territory, Sílvia Paneque, during a site visit to the attack shaft of this infrastructure, which is located on the Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes, next to Plaça Espanya. The new tunnel boring machine, however, will not face the longest section of the tunnel, from Plaça Espanya to Gràcia, until February.