Streets flooded by water and the Ronda de Dalt cut off: peak moment of the downpours on the coast

BarcelonaA new day of heavy rain in Catalonia, with streets flooded by water and mobility disruptions on the country's coast, especially in the metropolitan area and the Penedès. At 10 a.m., Civil Protection sent a new ES-Alert to Anoia, Alt Penedès, and Baix Llobregat due to the risk of flooding from torrential rain throughout the morning, although at this moment the downpours are also hitting Vallès Occidental. The instructions are not to go outside, not to go to retrieve your car, and not to go down into basements. Mobility is also a concern, with the Ronda de Dalt closed at the height of Vall d'Hebron in the direction of Llobregat due to flooding of the road, added to the delays on Rodalies, at El Prat airport, and the disruptions to the metro and bus network.

The 112 emergency service has received 246 calls, most of them from Alt Penedès, and the Generalitat Fire Department has attended to 51 incidents. For example, in Avinyonet del Penedès they helped a person whose car would not start due to the water. In Sant Pere de Riudebitlles, the wall of a torrent has collapsed on the Molí de la Font path. On social media, images are being repeated of various cities with streets flooded by water, such as in Sant Cugat del Vallès, in Sant Boi, or in Molins de Rei. The water is also flooding the first underground parking lots of private homes.

The intense rain that fell in Torrelles de Foix early this Tuesday has forced the closure of the Guerau de Peguera school in the municipality and the suspension of classes. The school's director, Montse Raventòs, explains in statements to the ACN that it was the cleaning staff who alerted before eight in the morning that the ground floor, where the school's lobby, preschool classrooms, library, and some offices are located, was flooded with two fingers of water. When the teachers arrived, they confirmed that the school was not in a condition to open its doors to receive the 180 students and, after consulting with territorial services, they called the families so they would not bring their children to the center.

The Government is also very attentive to the flow of rivers and reservoirs, such as the Foix reservoir, which is being monitored, and the public is asked not to approach the riverbed. There are several points in the Catalan territory where a lot of rain has fallen over a long period, leaving some streets with minor flooding, as is the case in Cornellà de Llobregat. On the Ronda de Dalt, near Montbau, the water is affecting traffic to the point that the road has been cut off, and it is also doing so on the C-58 near Terrassa, and on the B-23, with only one lane open, at the entrance to Barcelona.

The heavy rains are also affecting El Prat airport, located in the Baix Llobregat region, one of the three areas with the highest risk of torrential rainfall. The storm is causing delays to flights departing from or arriving in Barcelona. Enaire, the air navigation manager, has reported that it is applying safety regulations to arrivals. For this reason, it recommends checking the status of flights with the airlines. Vueling, the main airline at Barcelona airport, has admitted that the adverse weather conditions may affect "some" of its operations. Aena's website also shows occasional cancellations, although for now the airport operator has not detailed how many.

Furthermore, Renfe announced early in the morning that it was suspending the circulation of all high-speed trains as well as regional trains, which cover medium-distance routes, between 9 and 11 a.m. At midday, according to Renfe sources, delays continue on high-speed lines and some Rodalies lines due to the temporary speed restrictions that Adif has requested because of the rains. Some passengers showed resignation in the face of this situation, such as the case of Antonio, who is traveling to León with a layover in Madrid, and who arrived at Sants station four hours before his train to try to catch an earlier trip, warned by a Renfe message early in the morning.

The rains are also causing disruptions to the Barcelona Metro and bus network. Regarding the Metro, L5 is not operating between Cornellà Centre and Hospital Clínic and the access from Carrer de Sants to Badal station is closed; on L3, the Diagonal/Pau Claris access to Diagonal is closed, the platform at Liceu is out of service, as is the Sants platform in the direction of Zona Universitària and also Mundet station; and on L1, the access to Urquinaona station from the square is closed, as is the one at Florida station on Avinguda Masnou and the platform at Rambla Just Oliveras in the direction of Fondo. On L4, the Carrer Girona access to Girona station is closed.

The rains have so far mainly affected the coast and pre-coast of Barcelona. The most affected regions have been Alt Penedès, Garraf and the southeast of Anoia, where some records locally exceed 100 l/m², fallen in only three hours. This is the case for municipalities such as Sant Pere de Riudebitlles or Sant Pau d’Ordal, in Alt Penedès. A torrential intensity that has caused the sudden rise of rivers and streams and flooding. The strong storms are now concentrated in Barcelonès, Maresme and Vallès Occidental and Oriental, where some flooding is also occurring. The main part of the episode will move towards the northeastern regions, where torrential downpours are also likely to occur.reports Xavi Segura.

First alert

From early on, a wave of showers and storms was expected that could be strong and leave torrential downpours in several regions. In fact, Civil Protection already sent an Inuncat alert this Monday night due to the possibility of very intense showers across the entire Catalan coast and pre-coastal area. At the same time, Meteocat has issued a red warning (5 out of 6) for rain in eight regions, including Barcelona during the time slot from 6 AM to 12 PM this Tuesday. In this morning's press conference, the deputy director of Civil Protection, Imma Solé, insisted on requesting caution and following weather forecasts, and has ruled out sending new generalized alerts for now, as she considered that the public was already informed this Monday evening.

The regions that received the alert this Monday night were: la Selva, Maresme, Vallès Oriental, Vallès Occidental, Barcelonès, Baix Llobregat, Garraf, Alt Penedès, Conca de Barberà, Baix Camp, Alt Camp, Baix Penedès and Tarragonès.