Storms and flash flood risk hit Murcia, forcing region to activate its emergency flood plan

A day after Spain’s heatwave sent temperatures as high as 44 degrees in neighbouring Valencia and Alicante, the Región de Murcia has swapped extreme heat for extreme rain. Emergency services have activated the region’s flood plan as storms threaten flash flooding, even as wildfire risk stays high along the coast.

The Región de Murcia’s Directorate-General for Public Safety and Emergencies activated the INUNMUR flood plan in its pre-emergency phase on Thursday August 20, alongside PLATEMUR, the region’s wider civil protection plan. An orange alert, the second-highest level, is in place for the Altiplano, while a yellow alert covers the Noroeste, Vega del Segura, Valle del Guadalentín, Lorca, Águilas, Campo de Cartagena and Mazarrón. 

Storms are forecast to hit between midday and 10pm, with a 40 to 70 per cent chance of rain across the affected areas. The Altiplano faces the worst of it, with the possibility of up to 30 millimetres of rain in a single hour, while the yellow alert zones could see 15 to 20 millimetres in the same time.

What INUNMUR and PLATEMUR actually mean in practice

INUNMUR is Murcia’s special civil protection plan for flood risk, activated whenever heavy rain threatens to overwhelm rivers, ramblas (dry riverbeds that can fill rapidly in storms) or drainage systems. PLATEMUR is the region’s broader territorial emergency plan, coordinating councils, police officers and emergency services when an incident needs a joined-up response.

Pre-emergency phase means the risk is judged serious enough to put resources on standby, without yet treating the situation as an active emergency. Officials can escalate to a full emergency phase quickly if the storms turn out worse than forecast.

Winds of 55 km/h and three-metre waves add to the danger

Coastal areas are also bracing for strong winds, with gusts of 40 to 55 km/h forecast alongside waves of two to three metres. The combination raises the risk for anyone on the water or along the shoreline, on top of the flooding threat inland. Anyone on Murcia’s beaches during this time should pay close attention to local alerts and always check the flags in place to ensure it is safe to enter the water. 

Emergency services have also asked residents and visitors to avoid unnecessary travel while the storms are at their most intense, stay away from riverbeds and other flood-prone spots, and follow official guidance if conditions worsen. 

Wildfire risk stays high on the coast despite the rain

Even as the flood plan is activated inland, AEMET has forecast a high risk of forest fire along Murcia’s eastern coast today, according to the region’s emergency services. Storms bring lightning as well as rain, and a single strike in tinder-dry vegetation can start a blaze even while flooding is the bigger worry elsewhere in the region.

The contrast shows how localised Spain’s summer extremes have become this week, with the same 24-hour period bringing flood warnings to one part of Murcia and fire risk to another.

A sharp reversal from this week’s extreme heat

The change follows one of the most intense heat spikes of the summer. On Wednesday, red heat warnings were in force across Valencia and Alicante, with AEMET recording highs of up to 44 degrees and a heat index as high as 54 degrees in the worst-affected spots.

Murcia’s own temperatures are also easing back sharply as the same weather system reverses, dropping from a forecast high in the low 40s to closer to 37 degrees today as the storms move in.

Anyone with plans in the region today is advised to check AEMET’s short-term forecasts, given how quickly conditions have flipped twice in the space of a week.