A severe storm hit the Valencia Region of Spain on 20 August, 2019, causing flash flooding in parts of the provinces of Castellón, Alicante and Valencia. Some areas recorded more than 40mm of rain in less than 1 hour.
The worst hit areas were the towns of Peñíscola and Benicarló along the coast, where at least 6 vehicles were left stranded after flash floods inundated roads. Teams of firefighters were called out to rescue stranded passengers and drivers from the trapped vehicles. Benicarló was cut off for some time during the storm. A state of emergency was declared in Peñíscola.
Areas of the region recorded intense rainfall during the early hours of 20 August. El Toro in Castellón recorded 41.8mm of rain in 20 minutes. Associació Valenciana de Meteorologia (AVAMET) said that Peníscola recorded 58.8mm of rain during the storm, with 39.2mm falling before 10:00. Benicarló recorded 42.8mm of rain during the storm.
Spain’s met agency, Agencia Estatal de Meteorología (AEMET) in Valencia reported record rainfall in Alicante, with 86.8mm recorded in 24 hours. This is the highest daily total for a summer’s day. AEMET said that 41.2mm of rain fell in 1 hour from 03:30.
Some areas saw over 150mm during the day. AVAMET reported that Villalonga in Valencia Province recorded 204.6mm of rain in 24 hours to 21 August and La Vall d’Ebo in Alicante Province 167.6mm during the same period.
Social Media
Imágenes actuales tomadas desde el interior de uno de los camiones de #BomberosCPBC @dipcas accediendo a uno de los rescates que se acaban de realizar en #Benicarló. #Muchaprecaución. Evita circular hasta que se normalice la situación. pic.twitter.com/dDYrotAgWe
— CPBC (@SIAB_Castellon) August 20, 2019
En 160 años, nunca hasta hoy había llovido tanto en un día de verano en #Alicante: 86,8 l/m². La mayor parte de la precipitación se ha registrado entre las 2 y 8 de la madrugada, y en tan solo una hora (de 03:30 a 04:30) se acumularon 41,2 l/m². https://t.co/AjrNNeU1zx
— AEMET (@AEMET_Esp) August 21, 2019
https://twitter.com/Ajunt_Benicarlo/status/1163736416733540352
en la estacion automatica de El Toro-avamet , cayeron ayer 16mm en los primeros 5 min de tormenta, 41,8mm en los primeros 20 minutos, y en total 51,4mm, acabamos el dia pluviometrico con 54,1mm tras el xirimiri de esta noche
— El Toro (@ElToro1009) August 21, 2019
#Precipitacions (mm) ⛈️ més destacables hui (fins a les 21:00h):
58,8 Peníscola FACSA
50,5 El Toro
43,4 Alpuente/Cuevarruz CHJ
42,6 Illes Columbretes
42,8 Benicarló (meteoclimatic)
42,0 Traiguera
33,6 Canet lo Roig
28,0 Salinas
25,8 Puebla de San Miguel
15,6 Elda
15,4 Sinarcas pic.twitter.com/A1eQ2qLcmi— AVAMET (@avamet) August 20, 2019
☔️ La rambla de Cervera està tallada al seu pas pel Cementeri i també al pont de l'antic Parc de Bombers. La desembocadura, a la Mar Xica, també està tancada al tràfic. #PoliciaBenicarló #InformaBenicarló #últimahora pic.twitter.com/5Lq48wXSdC
— Ajuntament Benicarló (@Ajunt_Benicarlo) August 20, 2019
