Torrential rains and floods in the Ebro: Civil Protection lifts the confinement for residents of Baix Ebre and Montsià

Tortosa / BarcelonaThe heavy downpours that have struck the Terres de l'Ebre region during the early morning hours are not ceasing. In fact, this Friday, at first light, they reactivated with force. Indeed, the Meteorological Service of Catalonia (Meteocat) had to issue two new warnings: one at 7:00 AM to warn of the intensity of the rain and a second one, around 9:00 AM, to request the confinement of residents in the Baix Ebre and Montsià regions. By midday, around 1:00 PM, Civil Protection lifted this order, but continues to ask the population of about fifty municipalities in the area not to travel.

The new warning set a risk level for rain of 6/6 until 9:20 AM and warned that more than 90 liters per square meter could be exceeded in three hours in these two regions. The texts, broadcast via mobile phones, warned again of significant flooding and asked the population not to go outside and to access upper floors in the event of flooding on the ground floors.

During the night, torrential rains in these two regions have already left up to 192 liters per square meter accumulated in Mas de Barberans and 147 in Tortosa in the last 24 hours, and during the night they have caused flooding in streets and overflowed ravines. The mayor of Santa Bàrbara, Lluis Gimeno, told Catalunya Ràdio that in his municipality they have recorded 113 liters in just one hour. "An excessive amount of water is falling and this is overflowing the streets and the municipality's drainage systems," he said. "Now that the day is breaking we will see the real damage inside homes, warehouses, and we will see how we have to react," added Gimeno.

18 rescues of trapped people

The Generalitat Firefighters have carried out 18 rescues of people trapped in vehicles this Friday morning, as explained by inspector Oriol Corbella from the Command Center in Tortosa. The Firefighters have attended to 128 notices in the Terres de l'Ebre throughout the episode. Between eight and ten in the morning they have received 32 just in the Baix Ebre and Montsià, and during the eleven at night and eight there had been 75. Apart from the rescues in vehicles, Corbella has explained that they have also carried out others, for example of some person with reduced mobility who had been trapped in some building. The Firefighters have prioritized the services with rescues and towards eleven there was none pending of this type. There are no reported injuries, according to what he said.

The situation of the ravines in the Cardó and Gaviots mountain range, and the Galera ravine, is of particular concern. The Pelós ravine has overflowed in Santa Bàrbara and several streets in Tortosa have been flooded. There are four roads closed: sections of the C-12, the T-1025, the TV-3421 and the T-331.

The Minister of Interior and Public Security, Núria Parlon, came out last night to ask the public for “maximum caution and prudence” in the face of this episode and to be “alert” to the warnings. She said this in a statement from the CECAT (Operational Coordination Center of Catalonia), which has been active throughout the night monitoring the heavy rains.

Activity stopped

Given the forecast of heavy rain, several municipalities in Montsià and Baix Ebre already decided yesterday to suspend school activities. Specifically, this Friday there have been no classes in Alcanar, Amposta, Freginals, la Ràpita, Mas de Barberans, Masdenverge, Santa Bàrbara, and also in Deltebre. In these areas, municipal facilities and spaces have also been closed as a preventive measure.

"We have not regretted any personal injury and that is partly because we took measures: we decided to close the educational centers because we saw that the Department of Education was not doing it and the families had to organize themselves", stated the mayor of Tortosa, Mar Lleixà, in an interview with 3cat. "We believe it was the right thing to do, we must coordinate well and the premise is to prevent people from circulating and avoid personal injury", added the mayor.

Suspensions also at Renfe

The heavy rains, once again, also have an impact on mobility. Renfe has announced the suspension of several long-distance services on the Mediterranean corridor between Catalonia and the Valencian Community due to the storm. Regional trains have also been affected and there have been changes to routes. Railway circulation remains conditioned by the evolution of the rainfall and safety checks on the infrastructure.

The Valencian Community, on red alert

The Valencian Country is also a victim of the heavy downpours. The rains that have fallen so far in Castellón have left accumulations exceeding 100 litres per square metre in several points and have led the Valencian Government to send three ES-Alerts. The episode has also caused flooding and mobility disruptions.

The State Meteorological Agency (Aemet) has activated a red alert for rain in areas of Castellón and the coast of Valencia, given the forecast that very significant amounts of precipitation will accumulate in a few hours. In addition, half a hundred municipalities have suspended classes this morning, including some of the towns most affected by the DANA two years ago, given the forecast for continued rain.