Floating cars on the C-32: the storm floods roads and collapses El Prat airport

BarcelonaChaos in Catalan mobility due to torrential rains that have affected a good part of the territory since early morning. The alert that yesterday at midnight already caused restrictions in nine regions of Tarragona has spread rapidly this morning, as has the rain, which has flooded motorways, streets and train tracks as it passes through Baix Llobregat and has caused serious incidents on the C-32, on the Cercanías and at El Prat airport.

And at the same time as the rain, the Civil Protection alarms have also spread, in this case to mobile phones, which have begun warning the residents of Baix Llobregat and during the morning they have also sounded in Garraf, Barcelonés, Vallès and Selva. The foresight, restrictions and warnings managed to minimise the damage, but nevertheless, the Firefighters of the Generalitat received more than a thousand calls and some people had to be rescued in Tarragona. This is a summary of the effects caused by the DANA in Catalonia until midday:

Impassable roads

At around 10am the situation has started to get out of hand on the Catalan road network. Traffic on this first working day after the All Saints' Day long weekend has been seriously affected by the storm. In the morning, the rains have caused landslides on the A-27 at Valls, which has forced the road to be closed. On the AP-7 there are mobility restrictions in La Pobla de Montornès - Altafulla and towards the south, with detours via exit 32. The restrictions also affect the buses of the alternative plan that Renfe had organised to compensate for the cut in Rueda de Berà due to works. ~BK_LINE_BREAK~ At this point the C-32 in Castelldefels - Sant Boi, the C-31B in Salou, the TV-3454 in Deltebre and the paved road in Vallirana are closed, according to the website of the Catalan Transit Service. Although no injuries have been reported, some of these roads, such as the C-32, have become impassable rivers. ~BK_LINE_BREAK~

In the Baix Llobregat area, between Gavà and Castelldefels, several floods of underground passages and basements have also been recorded, also without personal damage. On the other hand, the Government recommends using the AP-7 instead of other routes for essential journeys. "It can withstand the rain well," said the director of the SCT, Ramon Lamiel. ~BK_LINE_BREAK~ Railway traffic, cut off

As for the railway network, the cuts have begun timidly, as the rains advanced, but since 10.40 am Renfe has already completely suspended all train traffic in the Cercanías de Catalunya core (Cercanías and Regionals). The only exception, for now, is the RL3 line (Lérida-Cervera). "This situation will continue until the end of the alert from the Generalitat of Catalonia, which is expected to end at around 2 pm," Renfe said in its statement.

At midday, Renfe also decided to suspend high-speed trains from Barcelona because the water in the El Prat tunnel reached "above the rails," Puente explained. Shortly afterwards, at 1:30 p.m., the operator assured that the workers were able to reopen one of the tracks and the passage of trains is gradually recovering frequencies. ~BK_LINE_BREAK~ Collapse at El Prat airport

Another infrastructure that has been severely affected by the storm is El Prat Airport, both in terms of operations and flights, as well as leaks and flooding within the facilities and on the runway.

In fact, the State Meteorological Agency, the AEMET, has explained that at this point, in the El Prat area, up to 150 litres per square metre have accumulated in "just four hours". The Minister of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, Óscar Puente, has announced that a crisis committee has been set up to monitor the impact of the storm on this infrastructure.

At this point, there are still numerous delays accumulated since early in the morning, when around fifty flights have been forced to wait, especially those bound for other points on the Peninsula. The collapse due to the storm has also meant that at least seventeen flights have had to be diverted to other airports to ensure safety. At least two of these flights were headed to Girona-Costa Brava airport, according to the official Aena application.

Two families rescued and one person evacuated by boat

As for personal injuries, the Interior Department has explained that the Firefighters of the Generalitat have rescued two families trapped during the floods in the Baix Gaià area, in Tarragonès. One of them was at home with two babies and all are well, as explained this Monday in a press conference by the head of the body, David Borrell. In the area of La Mora, there have been floods of up to a metre and a half in height in some houses. In addition, a person who needed medical treatment has been evacuated by boat and attended to by the Medical Emergency System. In total, there have been about 200 interventions in this area.