Spain braces for more floods after woman dies near Barcelona

Spain prepared for the full force of a fierce Mediterranean storm anticipated to worsen on Monday, after it flooded roads, halted transportation, and claimed a woman's life near Barcelona. The national weather service AEMET declared a red alert of the highest level in the eastern region of Valencia and the island of Mallorca, warning of imminent, extreme danger from torrential rain in the early hours of Monday.

Schools in Mallorca, Ibiza, and Formentera were closed, while commuter trains in Valencia, still reeling from the deadliest floods in Spain in a decade in 2024, were halted pending further notice. Emergency crews in Valencia, Catalonia, Andalusia, and the Balearic Islands had already responded to hundreds of incidents involving flooded homes, roads, and fallen trees by Sunday.

In Ibiza, roads turned into lakes of murky water, with large trash bins floating partially submerged in cars. The main road to Ibiza airport was shut, resulting in 27 flights being canceled, 16 diverted, and the remainder delayed, while 37 more were grounded by the airport operator Aena. The military sent troops from the mainland to aid the emergency response in Ibiza and Mallorca.

Numerous mass phone alerts were issued across Valencia, the Balearic Islands, and Andalusia, urging citizens to avoid unnecessary travel. A Catalan fire service report revealed that a woman who had fallen into a stream on Saturday in Cabrera de Mar, about 25km northeast of Barcelona, was found dead in the sea. In Andalusia, emergency services reported numerous rescues, including ten people pulled from a flooded beach tunnel near the popular tourist destination of Malaga.

Scientists note that climate change, driven by human activity, is exacerbating the Mediterranean storms that usually strike eastern Spain in autumn, as the ocean absorbs heat from the summer, resulting in heightened evaporation and heavier rainfall. This week, AEMET reported that September was the hottest on record in mainland Spain, following the country's warmest summer between June and August.