At least 11 people have been injured and hundreds evacuated after torrential rain triggered major flooding in eastern Spain.
Parts of Catalonia were battered by more than 200 litres of rain per square metre in just eight hours, with the coastal areas of Baix Penedes and northern Tarragones among the worst affected.
The deluge caused flash flooding, damaged buildings, forced holidaymakers from campsites and disrupted rail services on Saturday.
Civil Protection issued warnings to residents and urged people to exercise extreme caution, particularly around rivers, streams and ravines where water levels could rise suddenly.
Among the injured were several people hurt by collapsing walls in Roda de Bera, one of the municipalities badly affected by the storms.
Authorities said 11 people had been injured in total.
Hundreds evacuated
Around 300 people were evacuated from a campsite in Creixell as conditions deteriorated, although they were later allowed to begin returning.
A further 100 people were evacuated from a campsite in Roda de Bera, with authorities expecting them to be able to return in the coming hours.
Another 100 people were forced to leave a nightclub in El Vendrell because of the flooding.
Firefighters responded to 192 storm-related incidents overnight, with the vast majority concentrated in the Baix Penedès and Tarragonès areas.
Emergency crews reinforced their presence across Tarragona province as the scale of the flooding became apparent.
Footage and images from affected towns showed roads transformed into torrents as huge quantities of water overwhelmed drainage systems.
Trains disrupted
The extreme weather also caused significant disruption to Catalonia’s rail network.
Flooding around Sant Vicenç de Calders station affected eight Rodalies commuter and regional train lines.
Services were gradually being restored on Saturday, although passengers continued to face delays.
Other areas affected by the intense rainfall included El Vendrell and Torredembarra.
State weather agency Aemet had placed the Tarragona coastline under a yellow warning for heavy rain and thunderstorms on Saturday.
Civil Protection warned that the continuing rainfall could cause sudden increases in the flow of rivers, rieras and ravines and urged residents to avoid flood-prone areas.
The flooding comes amid a period of unusually unsettled late-August weather across parts of Spain, following weeks dominated by extreme summer heat.
