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Parts of Cartagena in Murcia experience around 100 litres/m² of rainfall

By Chris King • Updated: 23 May 2023 • 18:25

Image of submerged vehicles in Cartagena, Murcia.

Image of submerged vehicles in Cartagena, Murcia. Credit: Disaster News on Telegram

Torrential rainfall hit the region of Murcia this morning, Tuesday, May 23. The city of Cartagena experienced an accumulation of 100 litres/m² in a four-hour period.

A statement from Cartagena Town Hall explained that between 4 am and 6 am the city had been placed under a weather red alert after 60 litres/m² fell in one hour.

According to data from the Segura Hydrographic Confederation, in excess of 120 litres/m² hit the western part of the municipality, the statement revealed.

The urban drainage systems worked effectively and quickly throughout the area, apart from in the lower areas of El Ensanche where large quantities of water accumulated.

At least a dozen rescues of people trapped in vehicles in the urban area were carried out by the municipal emergency services.

The most complicated was that of a citizen who usually took refuge under a bridge on a boulevard. Local Police officers went searching for him and with the aid of firefighters, managed to rescue the man just as he was in danger of being swept away.

An orange alert level for rains of up to 30 litres/m² in one hour and up to 100 litres/m² accumulated in 12 hours was in place until 3 pm. This was subsequently lowered to yellow by AEMET, the State Meteorological Agency, and remains in place until 8 pm.

Residents in the  San Ginés neighbourhood had to be rescued from their vehicles after the area became flooded. In the Rambla de Benipila, around 70 litres/m² fell in the space of only one hour, according to abc.es.


The Disaster News Telegram channel posted images showing vehicles submerged in one area of the city.

A post on the Eltiempo.es Twitter account displayed video footage of the situation in Cartagena: “Due to the intense rains of the last days, several streets of the city have been flooded. No serious damage or injuries are reported at this time”, it read.

By midday, AEMET, the State Meteorological Agency dropped the alert level in Murcia from orange to yellow. A tweet from 112 Región de Murcia read: “The @AEMET_Esp deactivates the orange level in the warnings for adverse phenomena in all the #RegióndeMurcia . Currently, there are only active yellow notices that cover the entire Region”.

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Written by

Chris King

Originally from Wales, Chris spent years on the Costa del Sol before moving to the Algarve where he is a web reporter for The Euro Weekly News covering international and Spanish national news. Got a news story you want to share? Then get in touch at editorial@euroweeklynews.com

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