WEATHER UPDATE: Gota Fria in Spain

The maximum alert is maintained for the torrential rains that have already been the cause of three deaths within 24 hours.

Evacuations have been put into place with the floods increasing the river flow in many parts of Murcia as well as provinces in both Almeria and Alicante. Aemet have maintained the red warning throughout Murcia with an extreme warning whilst evacuations have been taking place.

The cold drop or ‘Gota Fria’ has been predicted to last until the early hours of Friday. This has been the worst storm Spain has seen since 1971 and has had accumulations of water greater than 200 litres per square meter over just 12 hours in parts of Spain.

The wind during the Gota Fria has also been extremely harsh, with gusts up to 100km/h. Friday has seen a decline in the torrential rain and dangerous winds but has devastation left in the wake of the floods that have demolished roads, flooded homes, taken vehicles and even caused death, siblings travelling through Murcia were swept away and drowned when their car overturned and more recently a man had died after been trapped in his vehicle in a flooded tunnel in the city of Almeria.

The authorities remain on high alert and urge people not to travel on the roads unless absolutely necessary while the weather begins to subside.