The Spanish region of Valencia and other regions in eastern Spain experienced heavy rain on Sunday night into Monday, which did not cause major known damages, but remained on red alert, 11 months after catastrophic floods that resulted in 230 deaths in October 2024.
„Very complicated situation today (Monday) in the Mediterranean region,” warned the Spanish meteorological agency AEMET on Monday, according to Reuters.
Overnight rainfall caused some flooding and led to the overflowing of a ravine in Aldaia, one of the most affected localities in Valencia by the floods that resulted in 230 deaths last year in eastern Spain, without causing damage, local media reports.
On Sunday, AEMET issued a red alert for „extraordinary danger” in certain parts of the provinces of Tarragona, Castellón, and Valencia.
Residents of the region received a message from Civil Protection, urging them to be extremely vigilant.
The Valencia City Council decided not to open schools and colleges on Monday, as well as libraries, parks, gardens, and cemeteries.
Other localities in the metropolitan area of the third-largest city in Spain, heavily affected by last year's floods, as well as in southern Catalonia, made the same decision.
The floods in October 2024 were caused by extremely heavy rains, the result of a "cold drop," a meteorological phenomenon common in autumn on the Spanish Mediterranean coast, whose effects are exacerbated by climate change and significant urbanization in the affected areas.
This disaster has angered the victims, who criticized the handling of the alert and rescue operations, amid a scandal between the left-wing central government and right-wing regional authorities over the responsibilities of each in these areas.
Since then, residents have regularly participated in protests accusing the regional government of not foreseeing the danger of torrential rains in time.