Floods, road closures and flight cancellations due to the storm in Catalonia
The downpours have affected a large part of the Catalan coast and pre-coastal area
BarcelonaCatalonia has experienced this Thursday another day of heavy rain which has caused road closures, disruptions to mobility, and flight cancellations. Civil Protection sent an alert to mobile phones Wednesday night in practically all coastal and pre-coastal areas, warning of torrential rain and urging caution while traveling. The rain began falling in the early hours of the morning and has been intensely soaking the entire Catalan coast and inland areas. The Catalan Fire Service responded to 377 calls by 1 p.m., mainly in the metropolitan area. By emergency region, most of the calls came from the North Metropolitan Region (213), which includes Vallès. The remaining calls came from the Girona Region (73), the South Metropolitan Region (41), Terres de l'Ebre (21), Lleida (17), the Central Region (8), and Tarragona (4). Most of the calls were for water accumulation in basements and garages, and for fallen trees. There were also reports of lightning strikes on trees in public areas and in some private gardens, and of people trapped in their vehicles by floodwaters, some with serious head injuries. The 112 emergency line received 924 calls. The Medical Emergency System (SEM) responded to a total of 22 incidents and dispatched ambulances to treat 26 people in person, none of whom sustained serious injuries. In the Gran Via tunnels in Sabadell, municipal police officers, with the assistance of firefighters, had to rescue several people from inside vehicles. Sabadell and Móra d'Ebre were among the hardest-hit areas. In Girona, later in the afternoon, several parking garages also flooded. Some schools have also been affected, such as Escola Bellaterra in Cerdanyola del Vallès. According to Anna Garcia, the school's principal, they received contradictory instructions, as classes were not suspended, but they were asked to be cautious and reduce their movement. "We had to put ourselves at risk to open the school," she asserted.
Due to the weather alert, the University of Barcelona, the Autonomous University of Catalonia, the Polytechnic University of Catalonia, the University of Girona, and Pompeu Fabra University announced the suspension of academic activities for the entire day. Other universities opted for a flexible schedule. From early morning, torrential rains caused significant mobility problems. The peak of the storm coincided in many cases with the start of the school and workdays, leading to widespread traffic disruptions. Civil Protection activated the Inuncat flood plan at its alert level until lunchtime. All of this caused disruptions at the airport: there were at least 47 cancellations and two flight diversions, as well as numerous delays, at Barcelona-El Prat Airport, according to AENA.
On the roads, the C-17 motorway was closed for a considerable time in Mollet del Vallès between kilometers 11 and 12 in both directions, with detours in place through the town and via the C-33. The BP-1413 was also closed in Cerdanyola del Vallès. Traffic authorities are also urging caution on the B-30, on the side of the AP-7 motorway in the Cerdanyola area, and at the junction with the C-58. Meanwhile, the heavy rain has caused disruptions at several points on the Catalan rail network. Specifically, R15 train service was suspended from early morning until after 1:30 p.m. between Ascó and Móra la Nova due to a wall collapse on the tracks. Additionally, traffic was temporarily disrupted on the R4 between Sabadell Sud and Terrassa Este. Among the most significant rainfall totals were 86 l/m² recorded in Castellcir (Moianès), 82 in Caldes de Montbui (Vallès Oriental), 77 in Sabadell, 65 in Cerdanyola del Vallés (Vallès Occidental), and 75 in Ras de Ebro, 38 of which fell in just half an hour. In the Pyrenees, the rain turned to snow, bringing the first snowfall of the season.
