The downpours leave a good part of Barcelona without metro and the ronda de Dalt remains cut off

BarcelonaA new day of heavy rain in Catalonia, with streets flooded by water and mobility disruptions on the country's coast, especially in the Barcelona metropolitan area and the Penedès. Although no major incidents have had to be regretted, the Generalitat Fire Department had to rescue a woman and her baby, just five months old, from inside a car that was trapped in a stream in Gavà, with a meter of water.

According to sources from the corps, the woman called 112 saying that the water was reaching her door and, when the firefighters arrived, they saw that the vehicle was in the middle of the stream –usually dry– and was unstable. Approximately, there was a meter of water. For this reason, they secured the vehicle with ropes and were able to remove the 34-year-old woman and the baby, who were taken as a precaution to the Hospital of Sant Boi. This incident was recorded after 11 a.m.

An hour earlier, Civil Protection sent a new ES-Alert to Anoia, Alt Penedès, and Baix Llobregat due to the risk of flooding from torrential rains during the morning, although by midday the downpours were also hitting Vallès Occidental and Barcelona. The instructions are not to go outside, not to go and get the 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 Llobregat direction due to flooding of the road, adding to the delays on Rodalies and at El Prat airport and the disruptions to the metro and bus network. The storm is now moving towards Girona, although, on paper, it is losing strength.

Regarding mobility, the rains forced the closure of the Ronda de Dalt in Barcelona initially in the Llobregat direction, but eventually, it was closed in both directions at exit 3 due to the flooding of the Caçador tunnel. Disruptions have also been recorded on some sections of the Ronda Litoral. In the metro, the accumulation of water has caused numerous incidents. By early afternoon, only line 2 was operating normally, and in all others, there were sections without service. There have also been disruptions to the mobility of the Catalan capital's bus network.

In addition, Renfe announced early in the morning that it was suspending the circulation of all high-speed trains as well as regional ones, 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 some Rodalies lines due to temporary speed restrictions that Adif has requested because of the rain.

At Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat (FGC), the R6 is running between Plaça Espanya and Sant Esteve Sesrovires and between Piera and Igualada, while between Sant Esteve Sesrovires and Piera the service is provided by buses. The rain has also affected the Barcelona-Vallès line service, which is progressively recovering trains on the S1 line (Terrassa) and keeps those on the L7 (Avinguda Tibidabo) suspended.

El Prat Airport has also recorded dozens of cancelled flights and delays this Tuesday morning, coinciding with the rainstorm. By noon, around 100 flights had been cancelled out of the more than 1,100 scheduled for this Tuesday, according to Aena sources who detailed this to the ACN. Enaire, the air navigation manager, has reported that it is applying safety regulations to arrivals. For this reason, it is recommended to check 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. Vueling sources have explained that they are applying a flexibility policy this Tuesday to customers who have a flight scheduled until 3:00 PM, so that, if they prefer, they can change their plane for free for another flight in the next two days.

1,200 calls to 112

The 112 has received up to 1,234 calls for 987 incidents related to the rain episode. The regions with the most calls were Barcelonès (400), Baix Llobregat (325), Vallès Occidental (307), and Alt Penedès (61). In turn, the Firefighters have attended to 394 services until shortly before 1:00 PM. On social media, images are being repeated of several cities with streets flooded by water, such as Sant Cugat del Vallès, Sant Boi, or Molins de Rei. The water is also flooding the first underground parking lots of private homes.

The first part of the rainstorm has left torrential records and reached a maximum of 97 liters per square meter in Canaletes (Anoia), 94 of which in three hours, according to the head of forecasting at Meteocat, Santi Segalà. In addition, there are three schools closed due to flooding in Piera, Torrelles de Foix, and Vilanova i la Geltrú, according to the Department of Education. The director of the Torrelles center, Montse Raventós, 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 lobby, infant classes, 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 the territorial services, they called the families so they would not bring their children to the center.

The deputy director of Civil Protection, Imma Solé, explained that there have also been floods in various services, such as nursing homes. Furthermore, she indicated that they have also had reports of 17 incidents in the power supply that have affected more than 2,000 subscribers, mainly in the Llobregat area.

The Government is also very attentive to river flows and reservoir levels, such as the Foix reservoir, which is being monitored, and citizens are asked not to approach the riverbed. This alert remains in place for most rivers and streams in the metropolitan area, and the warning not to approach them is reiterated. The flow of the Llobregat is also a concern, especially near Sant Vicenç dels Horts.

The rains have so far mainly affected the coast and pre-coastal area 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 just three hours. This is the case in 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 heavy 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 gradually move towards the northeastern regions, where torrential downpours are also likely to occur, reports Xavi Segura.First alert

From the early hours, a round of showers and storms was already expected, which 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. In parallel, Meteocat has issued a red warning (5 out of 6) for rain in eight regions, including Barcelona during the window from 6 a.m. until 12 p.m. this Tuesday.

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