MADRID: Spain's national weather service declared a red alert for parts of Catalonia in the north-east of the country and Andalusia in the south on Wednesday two weeks after devastating storms struck the Valencia region in the east.
About 3,000 people had been evacuated from an area near a river in Málaga Province in Andalusia as a precautionary measure, the Europa press news agency reported.
The official death toll from the October 29 floods has now risen to 223, with 215 of them from around Valencia, where a code orange alert level was declared for Wednesday.
A further eight people died in Andalusia and Castilla-La Mancha, which lies inland from Valencia. The authorities are still listing 17people as missing.
Clear up work was proceeding in many municipalities, with roads still blocked by wrecked cars and household goods. The work is focused on clearing clogged storm water drains.
Heavy rain was recorded on Tuesday and overnight on Mallorca, with local landslides and fallen trees, the Balearic Islands emergency services reported on X.
By early on Wednesday, conditions were largely sunny again, with the rain moving westwards towards the mainland. Code yellow, the third-highest alert level, remained in force on Mallorca's eastern coast.
The lower pressure front is being attributed to the same "Cold Drop"phenomenon typical in the region at this time of year that led to the October 29 rains and flooding, when a year's worth of rain fell within eight hours in some areas.
Forecasters are expecting less rain this time, but people remain anxious. "Every drop of water means fear," a woman told state broadcaster RTVE.
The emergency measures come after fierce criticism, primarily of local authorities but also national government, for their level of preparation for and warnings to citizens about the October 29 storm and resulting floods.
The autumnal storm system blighting Spain is known locally as DANA — a high-altitude isolated depression — in which cold and warm air meet and produce powerful rain clouds, a pattern believed to be growing more frequent due to climate change.
In Valencia, the impact of the rain could be severe because of the significant quantities of mud already on the ground and because of the condition of the sewage system, Rosa Tauris, a spokesperson for its emergency committee, told reporters on Tuesday.
Many municipalities in flood-hit areas cancelled all non-essential activities, told citizens to work from home and follow emergency services' updates, as well as asking volunteers to suspend clean-up operations and piling up sandbags for extra protection. — Agencies
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