Spain – Heavy Rain Floods Parts of Andalusia

A short period of heavy rain in Andalusia, southern Spain, caused flash flooding in the provinces of Malaga, Granada, Seville and Cadiz on Wednesday, 29 November 2017.

A train was derailed near Seville with at least 21 people injured, 2 of them seriously. Local media said the derailment was caused by the heavy rain.

Houses were damaged in several areas, including Jerez in Cadiz, Badolatosa in Seville, and the town of Campillos in Malaga.

Rainfall

Agencia Estatal de Meteorología (AEMET) said that Grazalema in Cádiz recorded the highest levels of rainfall for the day, with 88.5 mm falling in a 24 hour period, 28 to 29 November.

Osuna in Seville recorded 81.0 mm and several locations in Grenada recorded more that 60 mm of rain during the same period.

Most of the rain fell in the space of a few hours during the morning and afternoon, with the rain clearing from early evening.

AEMET issued orange level warnings for heavy rain from 28 November.

Seville

A train on the Málaga-Seville line was derailed between the stations of El Sorbito and Arahal in Seville. Media reports suggest the train derailment was a result of heavy rain. Emergency services in the region said that over 20 people were injured in the derailment. At least 2 of the injuries were serious and victims were taken to hospital via helicopter.

Elsewhere in the province, areas of the town of Badolatosa were flooded after the Genil river broke its banks, according to local media, with several houses reportedly damaged.

Málaga

In the province of Málaga, the worst hit areas was the small town of Campillos, where a small river overflowed flooding areas of the town and damaging houses.

In a statement yesterday, the local council said that rainfall had led to the spread of a creek that passes through the locality, resulting in problems in some points in the lower area of Campillos. The Council’s operational services were working fully to alleviate the damage.

The mayor of Campillos, Francisco Guerrero, was concerned that the creek had not been cleared recently and a blockage had caused the flooding.  He said:

“The main trigger of this situation has been the dirt that had the creek channel on the outskirts of the municipality. This has led to an overflow in the village and has generated all these incidents. On 17 October we asked for the (Andalusia) environment (department), who have the powers in this area, to clean the section of the creek that lies outside of Campillos. Today we have not yet received an answer and that inaction by the government of Andalusia is now having these remarkable consequences for Campillos and its citizens.”

Cadiz

In Cadiz, firefighters were called out to 30 flooded locations after the heavy rain. At least eighteen calls for help were for homes Jerez de la Frontera, which was the worst hit area. Flooded houses were also reported in Olvera.

Grenada

In Grenada, the worst hit area was Las Gabias, where flooding blocked several roads. The emergency service in the region, 112 Andalusia, said it has responded to around 20 flood emergencies in Grenada, including Montefrío, Atarfe, Caniles, Armilla and Güejar Sierra, as well as Las Gabias.

Social Media

#Actualización #DescarrilamientoTrenArahal Un herido grave y 20 leves en el descarrilamiento de un tren de pasajeros de la línea Málaga – Sevilla en #Arahal pic.twitter.com/1QYVahDEWV

— Emergencias 112 (@E112Andalucia) November 29, 2017

29/11 08:03 #AEMET actualiza #avisos en Andalucía. Activos hoy. Nivel máx naranja +info https://t.co/dF0CCB8ckK pic.twitter.com/ss1K27UuT3

— AEMET_Andalucia (@AEMET_Andalucia) November 29, 2017

El río Genil vuelve a desbordarse en #Badolatosa con las lluvias. “Tenemos el agua metida en las casas” https://t.co/r5ZIGIRv0F

— Ser Andalucia Centro (@AndaluciaCentro) November 29, 2017

#Inundaciones, #Tormentas, #Málaga:

-Las predicciones, se han cumplido y las fuertes lluvias provoca inundaciones en la Comarca de Antequera, con el desbordamiento de dos ríos en Campillos y Tebas. Las cantidades de precipitaciones, han superado en algunas zonas los 60mm. pic.twitter.com/oRI8s12LFw

— Storm Málaga (@Storm_Malaga) November 29, 2017

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