Torrential rain has struck Spain's eastern coast, triggering rescues, widespread travel disruption and at least one death, just two years after catastrophic floods killed more than 220 people in Valencia province in October 2024. The latest storm has left roads submerged, overwhelmed drainage systems and sent normally shallow streams surging into fast-moving torrents, with rivers threatening to burst their banks across multiple regions.
Authorities sent emergency alerts to residents of Valencia province and the southeastern region of Almería, urging people to stay off the roads, keep away from riverbeds and ravines, and move to higher ground if water levels rise. In Torrent, a municipality bordering the city of Valencia, floodwater poured through one of the main roads and emergency crews pulled several people from their vehicles. In Olivella, a town southwest of Barcelona, rescue workers recovered the body of a man found approximately 500 metres from his car, which had been swept away by floodwaters.
The storm caused major disruption across Barcelona and Valencia. Metro lines were suspended, sections of motorways closed, and flights at Valencia airport were halted. A football match in Valencia between Levante UD and Athletic Club was called off after the pitch became largely submerged during the warm-up, while FC Barcelona's La Liga fixture against Racing Santander went ahead at Camp Nou — authorities reasoned that keeping spectators inside the stadium kept them in a safe location. Barcelona won 7–2. Catalonia's meteorological institute warned that severe rainfall was expected to continue until at least 08:00 local time, and schools in Almería and Murcia were closed due to flood risk.
The scenes carry particular weight in Valencia, a city on Spain's Mediterranean coast that has not yet fully recovered — physically or psychologically — from the devastation of 2024. That disaster ranks among the deadliest natural catastrophes in Spain's modern history, and the return of similar conditions has sharpened public anxiety. The scale of this week's disruption, including paralysed transport infrastructure across two major cities, underscores the recurring vulnerability of Spain's eastern coast to the intense autumn rainstorms, known locally as DANA events, that form when cold air masses collide with warm Mediterranean moisture.