Storm in Terres de l'Ebre: more than a thousand people spend the night in pavilions and centers set up due to the downpours.

BarcelonaMore than a thousand residents were in wards and municipal spaces, 31 rescues were made, 18 were injured, and dozens of buildings and infrastructure were damaged, eight of them structurally. This is the provisional impact of the downpours that have continued to threaten Terres de l'Ebre today. Although rainfall decreased in the afternoon, this Monday the President of the Generalitat (Catalan government), Salvador Illa, announced that non-urgent school and healthcare activities will remain suspended on Tuesday and that travel to four regions will be avoided as much as possible: Montsià, Baix Ebre, Ribera d'Ebre, and Terra Alta. Civil Protection has sent a new Es-Alert message warning of the extension of the restrictions.

"Tomorrow we expect a turning point toward a situation of normality, but with showers still forecast that could be torrential," stated Illa, who emphasized that the emergency remains in effect due to the potential mobility impacts and infrastructure repair work. The president also announced that a first agreement will be approved on Tuesday with aid for the region, with €10 million in subsidies for municipalities and individuals, such as owners of affected agricultural holdings, and €50 million in subsidized loans for those in need of liquidity, available starting next Monday.

Since 5:30 p.m. on Sunday, firefighters have responded to 444 calls for incidents related to the storm, of which 367 were in the Montsià region and 77 in the Baix Ebre region. In addition, 31 rescues have been carried out. Most of the calls during the night were for rescues of people trapped in their vehicles on roads and paths, as well as technical assistance, water shortages, fallen trees, and rockfalls. During the morning, the majority were for pumping water out of basements and parking lots. So far, one serious injury has been reported, due to a slip that caused a broken hip, and 17 minor injuries.

Throughout Monday, the Fire Department's Collapsed Structures Group has assessed the buildings affected by the downpours. The greatest impact is in the towns of Godall and La Ràpita, where serious structural damage has been detected in four homes and the bridge over the N-340a highway. There are also eight other buildings with damage but no structural danger, and other buildings have problems due to the impact of the water, such as damage to the electrical installation, but without posing a danger to people. Later, Prime Minister Salvador Illa confirmed that in the municipality of Godall alone, eight buildings have suffered serious structural damage, eight more have significant damage, and around twenty have suffered less severe damage.

The 112 hotline received 2,309 calls by 11 a.m., generating a total of 1,840 cases. The majority came from the Montsià region, with 1,579 (70.59%). This is how the streets of Godall, in Montsià, woke up this morning, amidst cleanup efforts:

The mayor of Amposta, Adam Tomàs, has called on the Generalitat (Catalan Government) to expedite aid for municipalities affected by the recent rains and those of recent years, to increase the involvement of the Catalan Water Agency (ACA) in water management in the area, and to improve communication when roads are closed, as well as municipal roads. Tomàs has estimated that damage to municipal facilities alone amounts to at least €2 million, and private facilities could exceed this amount. This afternoon, the President of the Generalitat (Catalan Government), Salvador Illa, will attend a meeting on aid for the region.

Impacts on mobility and healthcare

Regarding traffic, the AP-7 reopened early this morning, at 1:30 a.m., between Ulldecona and Freginals in the southbound direction. Northbound, however, one lane was still closed early this morning to clear the road. Currently, the C-12 in Amposta, the TV-3408 in Amposta, the TP-3311 in Santa Bárbara, and the TV-3443 in Amposta remain closed.

Firefighters and Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalan police) have inspected the road network overnight to clear the roadway and remove accumulated water. In some cases, they have already determined that heavy machinery will be required due to the presence of rocks or even a collapsed wall, according to reports from the Fire Department. The Collapsed Structures Group is inspecting various buildings and roads to assess possible structural damage.

On the railway front, service on the R16 is interrupted between Tortosa and Ulldecona due to storm damage. Renfe and Adif are working to restore service as soon as possible. Service has also been interrupted, apart from the Mediterranean corridor, at various points in the Tarragona and Castellón districts in the Valencian Community. Adif announced that this will remain the case until Tuesday at noon.

Non-emergency healthcare services are also closed at the health centers in Montsià, Ribera d'Ebre, Baix Ebre, Baix Camp, and Terra Alta. However, urgent care in hospitals and outpatient clinics, as well as chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and dialysis treatments, are maintained.

The President of the Generalitat (Catalan Government), Salvador Illa, addressed the public again this morning and warned that the storm "is not over." Isla, who canceled his schedule today to travel to the area affected by the storm, insisted on urging caution in light of the forecast for further downpours later in the day. Speaking from Tortosa, the President of the Generalitat (Catalan Government) explained that meteorological prediction models indicate further episodes of rain, which could be torrential, starting mid-morning and midday, and in the afternoon. He also indicated that current tools "do not allow us to predict either the specific location or time," but emphasized that the downpours could spread to the pre-coastal and coastal areas. Therefore, he insisted that the storm is not over and that the Cecat (Cecat) will meet again at one o'clock and in the evening to evaluate the actions taken so far and decide how to proceed.

Floods and Destruction

The Dana Alice is hitting the Terres de l'Ebre hard. Since Sunday afternoon, especially in the Montsià region, the storm has left images of streets turned into streams in towns such as Ràpita, Santa Bàrbara, and Godall, three of the hardest hit by this episode.

All of them witnessed scenes inevitably reminiscent of those experienced in the Valencian Community a year ago, with water rising a foot up the facades of houses and cars and containers swept away. Given the uncertainty surrounding the rainy season, the Government—which sent a mobile alert yesterday afternoon urging people to avoid travel—has declared a state of emergency in the regions of Montsià, Baix Ebre, Ribera d'Ebre, Baix Camp, and Terra Alta, and all classes have been suspended.

Despite rain in the area for practically the entire day, the situation in Montsià worsened yesterday afternoon when the storm suddenly intensified and remained stationary for a long time in the same spot. In Mas de Barberans, for example, more than 80 liters per square meter fell in less than an hour. This caused the ravines to overflow, creating a "complicated" situation, in the words of Cristina Vicente, Head of Civil Protection Operations. The epicenter of the crisis has been in the municipalities of Ràpita, Godall, and Santa Bàrbara, but throughout the area, there have been increasing calls for vehicle entrapment and flooded basements. However, at this time, no incidents have been reported with anyone injured or swept away by the water. The Generalitat (Catalan Government) is sending all possible resources to the area to respond to the emergencies.

One of the firefighters' main tasks has been rescuing people who had become blocked on the roads, especially on the AP-7 highway, which had been blocked and many vehicles were trapped. The rain also forced the closure of the C-12 highway in Tortosa, the N-340 highway between Amposta and Alcanar, the TP-3311 highway between Santa Bárbara and La Galera, and the T-331 highway between Ulldecona and Santa Bárbara. Regarding rail traffic, Renfe suspended all train departures from Barcelona and Valencia on the Mediterranean Corridor yesterday, Sunday. A train was also stopped in Ulldecona, as the rains flooded the railway track and forced the closure of line R16. After 11 p.m., the Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalan police) were coordinating the evacuation of a train with passengers in Ulldecona that could not move due to the state of the track.

Civil Protection continues to insist that people at home stay put and recommends that those at low elevations try to get to upper floors. "Let's stay home, please," they repeat.

Schools at a standstill

With the forecast for intense rainfall in the coming hours in southern Catalonia, the Catalan government announced last night that all schools in the regions of Montsià, Baix Ebre, Ribera d'Ebre, Baix Camp, and Terra Alta will be suspended this Monday.

The Minister of the Interior, Núria Parlon—who is also traveling to Terres de l'Ebre today—has recommended that everyone who can do so do so remotely. Also in the Valencian Community, several municipalities in L'Horta de València have decided to suspend classes this Monday. In the city of Valencia, classes have only been suspended in schools located in flood zones.

"Historic" flood

The situation in the affected municipalities—some of which have been left without streetlights—is tense. In statements to 3Cat, the mayor of Santa Bárbara, Josep Lluís Gimeno, considered yesterday afternoon that this is a "historic flood", even "much more powerful" than the one that the area suffered at the end of October 2000. "The amount of water that is falling is increasing." He has been in contact with the president of the Generalitat and the Spanish government delegation in Catalonia since before 7 p.m. on Sunday.

The mayor of Godall, Alexis Albiol, also explained yesterday that the downpour this Sunday in his municipality is unprecedented. Both he and Gimeno emphasized ensuring everyone's safety, but also thinking about all the work that will be done starting this Monday to return to normal. In addition to having heavy machinery ready to remove the cars that have been swept away by the stream, and beginning to repair damage, the mayors are concerned about the impact that this storm may have had on the countryside just as the harvest season begins. Citrus fruits and olives for oil.

For this Monday, Civil Protection maintains the Inuncat plan alert activated, and Meteocat has yellow warnings active, especially in the south of the country, but also in the rest of the central coast and the northern third due to the risk of downpours. Aemet also has alerts activated in the Balearic Islands and the Valencian Community.