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 along the coast of the country, 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 during 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 cut off at the height of Vall d'Hebron in the direction of Llobregat due to flooding of the road, added to delays in Rodalies and at El Prat airport.

The 112 emergency service has received 246 calls, the majority from the Alt Penedès region, 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 gave way on the Camí del Molí de la Font. On social media, images are being repeated of various cities with streets flooded by water, such as in Sant Cugat del Vallès, Sant Boi, or 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 closely monitoring river flows and reservoirs, such as the Foix reservoir, which is being monitored, and citizens are 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, 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 downpours are also affecting El Prat airport, located in the Baix Llobregat region, one of the three with the highest risk of torrential rain. The storm is causing delays to flights originating from or destined for Barcelona. Enaire, the air navigation manager, has reported that it is applying safety regulations for arrivals. For this reason, it recommends checking the status of flights with the airlines. Vueling, the main airline at Barcelona airport, has admitted that adverse weather conditions may affect "some" of its operations. The Aena website also shows occasional cancellations, although for now the airport manager has not detailed how many.

In addition, Renfe announced early this 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 in the morning. At midday, according to Renfe sources, delays continue on high-speed lines and on some Rodalies lines due to the temporary speed restrictions that Adif has requested because of the rain. Some passengers showed resignation in the face of this situation, such as the case of Antonio, who is traveling to Leon with a stopover in Madrid, and who arrived at Sants station four hours before his train to try to catch an earlier trip, having been warned by a message from Renfe early on.

The rains have affected until now above all the coast and pre-coast of Barcelona. The regions most harmed have been those of the Alt Penedès, the Garraf and the southeast of the Anoia, where some records locally exceed 100 l/m², fallen in only three hours. This is the case of municipalities like Sant Pere de Riudebitlles or Sant Pau d’Ordal, in the Alt Penedès. A torrential intensity that has caused the sudden rise of rivers and streams and floods.

The heavy storms are now concentrated in the Barcelonès, the Maresme and the Western and Eastern Vallès, where some floods are also occurring. The main part of the episode will move towards the northeastern regions, where it is also likely that torrential downpours will occur.

First alert

From the early hours, a round of downpours and storms was already expected, which could be strong and leave torrential rains in several regions. In fact, Civil Protection already sent an Inuncat alert this Monday night due to the possibility of very intense downpours throughout the Catalan coast and pre-coast. In parallel, Meteocat has issued a red warning (5 out of 6) for rain in eight regions, including Barcelona, during the period from 6 a.m. to 12 p.m. this Tuesday.

The forecast is that the downpours currently in Penedès and Anoia will move "slowly" towards the north, to the regions of Barcelona, and could produce "torrential" precipitation. In this morning's press conference, the deputy director of Civil Protection, Imma Solé, insisted on asking for caution and following weather forecasts, and has ruled out for now sending new generalized alerts, as she considered that the public was already informed this Monday evening.

Affected regions

The counties 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. The forecast is for intense rain that may lead to significant water accumulations that can exceed 40 liters per square meter in just half an hour, or 90 and even 150 in three hours, without ruling out local amounts of up to 150 liters per square meter in total. Faced with this scenario, the Government sent an Es-Alert this Monday at ten o'clock at night to thirteen coastal and pre-coastal counties expected to be most affected by the rain.

Solé explained that these will be localized and concentrated storms, which can lead to episodes such as torrential rain falling in one specific part of a city while not a single drop falls in another. Given the variability of the weather, Civil Protection did not rule out this morning having to issue new Es-Alerts during the day in specific locations where a lot of water may be accumulating, just as happened at 10 a.m. In any case, prudence has been requested, to exercise extreme caution in mobility and outdoor activities, and not to approach flood-prone areas, not to park in streams or flood-prone points, and not to cross spaces with water accumulation.

During this Tuesday morning, downpours are expected especially in points of the coast and pre-coast, particularly between Barcelona and Girona. In the afternoon, the main event of the episode will move to the northeast, although scattered showers will continue to fall in other areas, especially on the coast and pre-coast. These precipitations will be fueled by a sea much warmer than it should be at this time of year. Rain will be less likely or testimonial in the western regions.