A man has died and travel has been thrown into chaos after torrential downpours triggered flash flooding across north-east Spain.
The victim was found in Olivella, around 40km west of Barcelona, on Thursday. Catalan firefighters confirmed on X that his body was recovered after his car was swept away by a swollen stream. They had earlier reported the missing person as a woman.
The death came as Spain’s weather agency AEMET placed eastern regions under heavy rain warnings on Wednesday, with a red alert issued for Barcelona’s coast.
In Catalonia, emergency services were inundated with more than 850 calls and logged over 500 flood-related incidents. Social media videos showed cars half-submerged and rescuers wading through a flooded underpass to reach a trapped vehicle.
Barcelona’s transport network was badly hit. Several metro stations were closed, buses were diverted, regional trains were disrupted and dozens of flights were delayed or cancelled at El Prat airport.
Valencia was also battered. In some municipalities, more than 70mm of rain fell in just 30 minutes.
“Rarely have we seen such rainfall accumulations in 30 minutes,” AVAMET, the regional weather association, said.
Authorities in Valencia province reported 478 incidents, mostly damage to properties, leaks and road disruption. In Valencia city itself, the metro system was fully suspended and the airport was shut for hours, forcing diversions.
Officials have advised against all non-essential travel. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez warned the country was facing “very complicated situations.”
The storms come after Spain recorded its hottest summer ever, followed by an unusually warm September. Scientists say human-induced climate change is making autumn Mediterranean storms more intense, as the sea retains more heat over summer and releases more moisture into the atmosphere.
It is less than two years since catastrophic flooding in Valencia claimed over 230 lives.
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