Heavy floods in Tarragona: eleven injured, one of them a minor and in critical condition

BarcelonaEleven people have been injured to varying degrees due to the torrential rains that fell last night and this morning, flooding streets, campsites, car parks, and underpasses in the north of Tarragonès and Baix Penedès. The episode, which also caused road and rail line closures, was declared over at 4 p.m. and exceeded the Generalitat's forecasts. The Generalitat did not send any alert to the population via ES-Alert, presumably because the intensity of the downpours predicted for those hours was lower. The most serious incident occurred in Roda de Berà (Tarragonès): around two in the morning, the wall of a house on the town's promenade collapsed, and three people, who are from the same family, were trapped.

As a result of this collapse, a minor – who is 17 years old – had to be taken to Joan XXIII Hospital. She is in critical condition, with a reserved prognosis. The other two injured – her parents – are in serious and less serious condition and have been transferred to Santa Tecla Hospital, also in Tarragona. The mayor of Roda de Berà, Pere Virgili, lamented the events and admitted that the night had been "more complicated than expected," despite warnings of intense rain. "In 62 years, I had never seen the water come down with such force and for so many hours," he stated.

According to the intensity threshold of 3 out of 6 predicted for the area, maximum accumulations of 90 liters per square meter (l/m²) were expected on the Tarragona coast, but by morning, 146 l/m² had been reached in some places. From El Vendrell, one of the most affected areas, the Minister of Justice, Ramon Espadaler, confirmed that this Saturday's downpours had exceeded forecasts. However, he argued that no ES-Alert was sent to warn the population because the alert level of the Meteorological Service of Catalonia (Meteocat) was 4 out of 6. "It was not justified," he stated.

In this regard, Espadaler pointed out that meteorology "is not an exact science" and that it is not advisable to issue an alert if there is not enough information. In the afternoon, the director of Meteocat, Sarai Sarroca, stressed that Civil Protection "did what it deemed appropriate". In statements to 3Cat, she stressed that they issued a prediction notice around 6 p.m. and a surveillance notice around 5:45 a.m., which went from orange to red. Unlike Espadaler, Sarroca was cautious before confirming that the floods had exceeded predictions and stressed that in August "very complicated situations to predict" arise. "From communicating these notices, our task is over," she concluded, regarding the sending of the ES-Alert.

The alert for the Inuncat plan is still active and, for Sunday, more storms are expected but without reaching the same levels of intensity.

A campsite and a nightclub are evacuated

The heavy rainfall of the last few hours in Baix Penedès and northern Tarragonès has forced the evacuation of about 300 people from the Arc de Berà campsite – currently, they are returning to the campsite progressively – and another hundred from a nightclub in El Vendrell. In fact, a bus had to take them to the Pla de Mar school, where a reception center has been opened until the rain subsides. "We were able to react quickly and well," said the mayor of El Vendrell, Kenneth Martínez, who explained to the ACN that the young people were "wet and in the open," but they were fine. In the morning, they were all able to leave.

The 112 telephone has received nearly 700 calls related to the downpours, and the Firefighters have attended more than 200 calls until daylight. Centers have also been set up at the Roda de Berà sports center and the Creixell municipal center, where 13 people had to be rescued. There have been no human losses, but material ones, highlighted the mayor of Creixell, Montserrat Muñoz, who also noted that the water has caused a lot of damage that they are trying to assess.

Joan Coll, who lives in a house on Avinguda del Mar in Creixell, a "far from the stream" area, coincides, but where the sewage system "did not withstand" the intensity of the water.

The mayor of El Vendrell, Kenneth Martínez, also explained to the ACN that it was a

In Torredembarra, the main impacts have occurred on the Miramar promenade and the Viló underpass has been completely blocked. Furthermore, rail traffic has been interrupted on the southern Rodalies lines due to flooding at the Sant Vicenç de Calders station until 9 a.m. Espadaler has assured that "normality" is being restored after the rail and road closures caused by the rainfall. In this regard, the Government has made itself available to the town councils to repair damaged infrastructure, although Espadaler has ruled out declaring them a "catastrophic zone".

The President of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, has asked to be "alert" and to "avoid unnecessary travel" in the coming hours in southern Catalonia given the meteorological situation. In a tweet on social network X, Illa explained that he has spoken with the mayors of the most affected municipalities to learn about the situation firsthand and has expressed his support for those affected. The head of the executive has assured that he is "very aware" of the consequences of the storms. The Minister of the Interior, Núria Parlon, has also called for prudence, especially when driving near streams and ravines, and has asked to follow the advice of the competent authorities.