Intense rain returns: the Government asks for "maximum caution" in 19 counties

BarcelonaThe rain has given a certain respite to Catalonia this Sunday, but the presence of the DANA Adam will cause a new day of persistent and widespread rainfall across much of the country throughout this Monday. Within 24 hours, the downpours could leave accumulations of more than 100 liters per square meter. The President of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, has warned that the risk associated with this cold drop is still "not over" and has requested maximum caution in the face of the forecast for this new episode. According to meteorological predictions, however, at the moment there is no area marked with a red warning and the rainfall is expected to be less intense than that experienced this past weekend. However, the affected territory still needs to be "calibrated" and these phenomena have a point of uncertainty that does not always allow for anticipating them with so much lead time.

For the moment, Meteocat has issued a weather warning for moderate danger in nineteen regions during a time frame ranging from 12:00 PM until the early morning. The director of the service, Sarai Sarroca, explained that the rains will be widespread, although the most notable intensities will be on the coast and pre-coast and in the interior of the country. The warning, already in effect since Sunday morning, covers the Maresme, Vallès Oriental, Vallès Occidental, Barcelonès, Anoia, Bages, Moianès, Baix Llobregat, Garraf, Alt Penedès, Baix Penedès, Tarragonès, Alt Camp and Baix Camp. In many cases, the downpours will be accompanied by storms.

According to this evening's maps, in the Tarragona area the rains will begin from midday, then they will move towards Barcelona starting at 6:00 PM and until six in the morning, and on Tuesday they will reach the Girona regions. Furthermore, there will be very rough seas on the coast of Tarragona and Barcelona, with waves of more than 2.5 meters. For now, the alerts are yellow and orange and there is no forecast of restrictions by the authorities, although it will be necessary to wait for the update of the maps on Monday morning and Civil Protection is already asking the public for caution.

Meteocat predicts that tomorrow the DANA Adam will move up from the Valencian Community and the Balearic Islands and affect a large part of the coast and pre-coastal areas of Catalonia. Thus, a significant rain episode is expected between Monday and Tuesday, with estimated water accumulations of between 50 and 100 liters per square meter in many regions. This Sunday afternoon, the estimated danger level is four on a scale of six. With less intensity, however, rain is also expected in La Selva, Gironès, Pla de l’Estany, and Alt and Baix Empordà throughout the day, which will intensify starting Tuesday.

One fatality in Maresme

Saturday's rains have left very high records in various parts of Catalonia and have caused sudden rises in streams and flooding. The irregular downpours have discharged nearly 100 mm in parts of Vallès and Baix Llobregat, according to data from Meteocat. During the night and until 8 a.m. this Sunday, the Fire Department has attended to a hundred services, including several rescues. In Martorell, they evacuated seven people and a dog from their home using a large table and some paddle boards. Before midnight, in Sant Esteve Sesrovires, they rescued an elderly person and a pregnant woman from a house where water had accumulated, and they also helped the occupants of several cars that were driving on the A-2 in Abrera and Martorell. In the evening, the Fire Department had already rescued two elderly people who had been trapped inside their car in Sentmenat, in the Vallès Occidental region.

On Saturday, however, a woman lost her life, dragged by the water of a stream in Cabrera de Mar, in the Maresme region. Emergency teams located her lifeless body this Sunday morning near the breakwater of the port of Premià de Mar. The 35-year-old victim was located after an intense search operation that mobilized the Generalitat Fire Department, the Mossos d'Esquadra, and Maritime Rescue throughout the night. After not finding her in the stream, emergency services expanded the search to the sea, and she was finally located about 6 kilometers from the point where she disappeared.

The emergency call was made shortly before eight in the evening. The woman was reportedly swept away by the water when she was trying to cross the stream with her two children and her husband. As explained by the mayor of Cabrera de Mar, Òscar Fernández, the family had just left the municipal pavilion, where a basketball game had been played. "When it was raining so hard, it was requested that no one leave the pavilion. It seems there were people who decided to go out despite the rain and tried to cross the stream, when 60 liters fell in 40 minutes," he explained.

The city councils of Cabrera and Malgrat lament the loss and will declare official mourning and call for a minute of silence in both municipalities this Monday. They have also made a call not to disregard the warnings issued by the Generalitat and the city councils: "A downpour cannot be disregarded and can lead to fatal consequences like those we have witnessed today." In Cabrera de Mar, 57 liters per square meter accumulated in less than an hour, in an episode that forced the activation of emergency services.

President Illa also lamented in a message on X the death of the woman who went missing in the Maresme and thanked the work of the emergency and police teams. "I ask that everyone remains very attentive and acts with maximum caution," he insisted, and thanked the "conduct" of the citizenry this weekend.

Without schools in the Balearic Islands and the Valencian Community

The Valencian Country and the Balearic Islands have taken the worst of this weekend's storm. Valencia, Alicante, Ibiza and Formentera are under a red warning for "an extraordinary danger" due to heavy rain. In the Valencian Country, according to Efe, emergency services have found the body of a woman who went missing while swimming this afternoon at the beach in Sagunt, despite the authorities' warnings.

The Generalitat Valenciana has declared a state of emergency in the Alicante region of Marina Alta and the Valencian region of La Safor, and up to forty municipalities in these areas have announced that classes are cancelled this Monday; a measure affecting 87,000 students. The Valencia City Council has also closed a dozen educational and community centers (for example, senior care centers) located in flood-prone areas or under the influence of the DANA. Some universities, such as the University of Valencia (UV) and the Polytechnic University (UPV), will also not hold in-person classes. Furthermore, at 8:00 PM, Adif interrupted the circulation of commuter rail lines until further notice due to the irregular storms. The Valencian region of La Safor has been the most affected by the rainfall episode, where 208.2 l/m² have fallen, and the regional government has warned that there is a risk of rivers and ravines overflowing on the border between southern Valencia and northern Alicante.

The Balearic Islands have experienced a day marked by intense rain, strong wind gusts, and a risk of flooding due to the DANA Adam, and given the forecast that the storm will persist, the Ministry of Education has also decided to suspend in-person classes this Monday at educational centers in Mallorca, Ibiza, and Formentera. "The priority is to guarantee the safety of the children, as well as to avoid travel that could hinder the tasks of emergency personnel," stated the Balearic president, Marga Prohens.

The measure comes after a difficult day, with 98 incidents registered by 112 between Saturday night and Sunday, most of them related to flooding. Furthermore, in the evening, Civil Protection sent an ES-Alert notification to the population of Mallorca –the first one ever issued on the island– to warn of deteriorating weather conditions and to ask for extreme caution, while the Military Emergency Unit (UME) has begun deploying personnel to Ibiza and Mallorca to reinforce emergency services. In Menorca, however, classes will continue as normal, in accordance with current forecasts.

On the other hand, the Andalusian government has also sent an ES-Alert to fifty municipalities in Almeria due to a red warning for the possibility of torrential rain throughout tonight and during the early hours of Monday.