Spain Battered by Violent Storms, Flash Floods Hit Tourist Areas

Severe thunderstorms have battered Spain, including the Costa Blanca and other tourist hotspots like Alicante and Benidorm. The storms unleashed up to 50 litres of rain per square metre in just a few hours, causing significant flooding that inundated roads and swept debris into traffic paths. This extreme weather occurred only 48 hours after a British man died in flash floods near Barcelona, where his car was swept away by a stream.

Emergency services were deployed in several locations, including Orihuela, where a lightning strike ignited a palm tree. While the national weather agency AEMET described the storms as localized but intense, an orange alert was issued and later dropped. A yellow alert remains active for areas including Lorca and Cartagena. Authorities have warned of potential "very complicated situations" and advised against travel, with popular destinations like Benidorm and Ibiza bracing for further impacts. This recent extreme weather follows Spain's hottest summer on record, which saw widespread wildfires.