The Government will send two ES-Alerts for heavy rains in nine counties: one at midday and another at night

BarcelonaTorrential rains are returning and Catalonia is preparing for 24 intense hours, especially in the Garraf, the Penedès, the Camp de Tarragona, and the Ebre regions. The Meteorological Service of Catalonia (Meteocat) has activated level 5 out of 6 of danger for precipitation due to downpours that may exceed 40 liters per square meter in just half an hour along the coast and accumulations of up to 200 liters in the south of the country in a single day. In addition, at noon, danger level 6 out of 6 was activated in the Baix Penedès and the Tarragonès until 3 p.m.

Given the risk posed by flash floods that can be caused by downpours and associated atmospheric phenomena, such as strong wind gusts, the Government will send two ES-Alerts to the most affected regions so that citizens take extreme precautions: the first to the Garraf, the Alt Penedès, the Baix Penedès, the Alt Camp, the Baix Camp, and the Tarragonès, to alert of intense rains from midday and throughout the afternoon; and the second to the Terra Alta, the Baix Ebre, and the Montsià, where the forecast is for the afternoon, the evening, and throughout the night.

In a media briefing, the head of Prediction at Meteocat, Santi Segalà, warned that the storms may be accompanied by violent weather phenomena, such as tornadoes, waterspouts, or strong wind gusts.

For her part, the deputy director of Civil Protection, Imma Solé, explained that all municipalities and organizations will be informed about this new alert situation due to rain, which she insisted is of a "very general" scope, although with different levels of danger.

Specifically, the red danger warning begins at 12:00 p.m. in the regions of Tarragona and the south of Barcelona. From 6:00 p.m., the alert will move towards the Baix Ebre, the Montsià, and the Terra Alta, and from midnight until six in the morning it is expected that the rains will remain stalled in the Baix Ebre and the Montsià. In the Ebre region, therefore, the storm is expected to last up to 18 hours.

The Valencian Community, on red alert

Furthermore, it should be taken into account that the State Meteorological Agency (Aemet) has raised the warning for rain to red starting at 6:00 PM for the coast and the northern interior of Castellón and the coast of Valencia, given the forecast that 90 liters per square meter may accumulate in one hour and up to 250 liters in 12 hours.

At 10:00 AM, the Generalitat Valenciana sent an ES-Alert requesting that people avoid travel and stay away from ravines and riverbeds. Additionally, in the Valencian Community, around fifty municipalities suspended classes this morning, and more are expected to join during the coming hours due to the increase in rainfall.