This is the moment the streets of Valencia became overwhelmed by flash floods overnight, trapping people inside cars and reviving memories of the deadly DANA floods of 2024.
Locals shared dramatic videos online showing cars and bins being carried by streams, with one writing on X: ‘It’s happening again!’
Another clip showed a car park in Valencia city almost completely filled with muddy water.
Roads were transformed into fast-flowing rivers in the towns of Torrent and L’Eliana, with floodwater making some streets virtually impassable.
Emergency services carried out rescues of people trapped inside vehicles in Torrent, while the Generalitat activated its flood emergency procedures as conditions deteriorated.
Valencia Airport was forced to close and redirect arriving flights to Alicante.
One weather account reacted to footage from L’Eliana by writing: ‘Again!’, saying it was impossible to see the images without thinking about the catastrophe that struck Valencia almost two years ago.
The comparison is particularly raw in the region because the October 29, 2024 DANA killed 232 people, with the overflowing Poyo-Saleta ravine system responsible for many of the deaths.
The perceived failure to warn people effectively ultimately led to the resignation of the Valencia president.
Investigations revealed the SMS alert arrived to mobile phones hours after many people had already drowned.
Huge rainfall totals
Wednesday’s storms dumped extraordinary amounts of rain over parts of Valencia in a short period.
According to figures from the Valencian Meteorological Association, AVAMET, rainfall totals reached 85 litres per square metre in L’Eliana, 76.2 in Torrent and 73.6 in Chiva.
Paterna recorded 67.4 litres per square metre, while Lliria and Riba-roja de Turia both exceeded 60.
Images from the CV-35 around L’Eliana showed vehicles attempting to negotiate a badly flooded carriageway as heavy rain continued to fall.
Other footage from Torrent showed powerful muddy torrents rushing between parked cars and pushing large rubbish containers along the street.
Emergency alert sent to phones
The Generalitat sent an ES-Alert to mobile phones on Wednesday night warning residents of a risk of flooding.
People were told to avoid unnecessary journeys, stay away from rivers and ravines, obey road closures and move to upper floors of buildings if water levels began to rise.
A hydrological pre-emergency was also activated for vulnerable areas including the Poyo-Saleta and Lower Turia ravines, while municipalities were urged to intensify monitoring of waterways and other known flood-risk points.
The downpours also caused significant transport disruption, including interruptions to Metrovalencia Lines 1 and 2 and delays across the network.
The danger is not over either, as Aemet warnings remain in force as the unstable weather moves across eastern Spain, with particularly severe rainfall forecast further south on Thursday.
