Nearly a week after striking the south and east of Spain, and while the search for dozens of missing persons continues, the DANA (Isolated High-Level Depression) is still wreaking havoc in the Iberian Peninsula, causing floods in Catalonia on Monday.
The State Meteorological Agency (Aemet) issued red and orange risk alerts on November 4 in Catalonia, in several areas of the Mediterranean coast, due to heavy rainfall and accumulated precipitation.
A red alert - the highest level on a scale of three - was issued by Aemet for the coastline of the province of Barcelona due to "extreme danger from torrential rains." The alert covered six regions: Baix Llobregat, Barcelonès, Garraf, Maresme, and the entire Vallès.
During the early morning hours, heavy rain fell in several areas of the provinces of Barcelona and Tarragona, leading to flooding in streets, basements, and garages, according to local media reports.
The heavy rainfall that has hit the region since early morning has caused flooding on roads, leading to chaos in traffic and the closure of some routes, such as the A-27 highway, where traffic was interrupted in Valls (Tarragona) due to landslides caused by the rain.
Several areas were also flooded, including Barcelona's El Prat airport, where at least 15 flights were diverted, widespread delays occurred, and 153 flights were canceled, according to Transport Minister Óscar Puente. Additionally, the Rodalies train service in Catalonia was suspended.
Other areas significantly affected in the province included Gavà and Castelldefels, the latter under a red alert (for extreme risk) after accumulating 180 liters of rainfall per square meter in 12 hours, reported the Spanish newspaper Heraldo.
In Tarragona, the towns of Salou and Cambrils were under yellow and orange warnings, respectively, due to rain and storms.
The meteorological agency urged citizens to take extreme precautions and to avoid traveling unless it is absolutely necessary.
Similarly, the Civil Protection of the Generalitat warned about the high intensity of the rainfall, which in some cases was accompanied by hail, and urged people to limit their mobility.
Among the recommendations, he advised against picking up children from schools while the storm was hitting hard, as these are safe locations. He also urged workers not to leave their posts to avoid unnecessary movements.
While the weather phenomenon affects Catalonia, in the Valencian Community, the hardest hit by the DANA, search operations continue for dozens of missing persons due to the massive flooding that occurred on October 29.
Authorities have confirmed 217 fatalities so far, the vast majority of whom (213) are in Valencia, but the numbers may rise as search efforts continue.
This Monday, the focus was on parking lots and underground areas. Authorities stated that a morgue capable of accommodating up to 400 deceased individuals was prepared, nearly double the more than 200 found so far, as explained by Javier Marcos, head general of the Military Emergency Unit (UME), in a press conference in Madrid, according to EFE news agency.
After the catastrophe occurred, the government of Spain left the affected towns abandoned, and four days later, their inhabitants were still without water, electricity, food, or medicine.
On Friday, thousands of residents in Valencia mobilized and walked dozens of kilometers to bring food and water to the people in the areas affected by the flooding from the DANA and to assist in the cleanup, embodying a popular Valencian saying: “Only the people save the people.”
This Monday, King Felipe VI presided over the crisis committee meeting concerning the DANA for the first time, just one day after the heated protests in Paiporta, one of the hardest-hit areas in the Valencian Community, during his visit alongside Queen Letizia, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, and the President of the Valencian Government, Carlos Arturo Mazón. The official delegation as a whole was met with shouts of “murderers” and “get out, get out.”
The press reported that the royals intend to return to the epicenter of the tragedy, despite the uproar that erupted during their visit this Sunday, November 3, to Paiporta, where the highest number of fatalities from the climatic phenomenon has been recorded.
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