Devastating floods in Spain as mother is swept away by raging torrent

A woman has died after being swept into a swollen stream in Spain, where torrential rain transformed roads and streets into fast-moving rivers of mud.

Her husband managed to prevent their daughter from being carried away by the powerful floodwaters in Cabrera de Mar, around 18 miles from Barcelona.

The family had been walking back to their car after playing basketball in the town when the woman was swept downstream at approximately 7.30pm on Saturday.

She is understood to have been attempting to cross the waterway with her daughter when the force of the water overwhelmed her.

Search teams recovered her body at around 11am on Sunday near the breakwater at Marina Port Premia, a sports and leisure complex on Barcelona’s Maresme coast.

Firefighters involved in the operation announced on X: ‘We have found the lifeless body of the woman who went missing yesterday evening.’

The tragedy came as Storm Adam caused widespread disruption in Ibiza on Sunday, with video from inside the airport showing water pouring through the terminal ceiling.

One airport car park was also temporarily shut after an awning collapsed.

Large recycling bins were seen floating downstream as locals sought refuge from the floods

Large recycling bins were swept downstream as residents sought shelter from the floodwaters

A truck caught in rapidly rising floodwaters in El Jido in Almeria is pictured

A truck is shown trapped in rapidly rising floodwater in El Ejido, Almeria

Floods in El Ejido, where precipitation has exceeded the red alert threshold, is pictured

Flooding is pictured in El Ejido, where rainfall has surpassed the red-alert threshold

Storm Adam is expected to bring falls of 250mm to 350mm to Valencia and the surrounding areas in the next 24 hours as southern and eastern Spain is battered by heavy rain

Storm Adam is forecast to bring between 250mm and 350mm of rain to Valencia and nearby areas over the next 24 hours as heavy downpours batter southern and eastern Spain

Flights bound for the holiday island were diverted to Alicante and Majorca after heavy rain caused runway problems. At least seven flights were known to have been affected, including services from London and Bristol.

Ibiza’s Island Council said motorway access to the airport had been severed near the tunnels at Playa d’en Bossa.

Shopkeepers used brooms and mops in a desperate effort to stop brown floodwater rushing down the streets and entering their businesses.

Civil Protection officials warned residents by phone yesterday morning: ‘Imminent risk of flooding in Ibiza and Formentera from intense rainfall.

‘Maximum precaution. Avoid flood-prone areas and unnecessary journeys and stay clear of waterways.’

Hundreds of people were reportedly left without power across the two Balearic holiday islands.

The Costa Blanca was placed under a rare ‘danger to life’ warning, which was due to remain in force until 10am on Monday.

Heavy rain is seen in Barcelona, Madrid and Valencia in this weather map. From 10am on Sunday, large swathes of the country will be placed under a rare 'danger' to life warning

A weather map shows heavy rain across Barcelona, Madrid and Valencia. From 10am on Sunday, large areas of Spain were due to be placed under a rare ‘danger to life’ warning

Emergency services have responded to more than 100 calls since the deluge began on Saturday, mostly from people trapped in their cars in floodwaters

Emergency services have responded to more than 100 calls since the deluge began on Saturday, mostly from people trapped in their cars in floodwaters

State weather forecaster Aemet said the red alert would span Malaga city, Torremolinos, Fuengirola, Marbella, Estepona, Nerja and the Axarquia region.

It warned: ‘The meteorological danger is extraordinary. Property and vulnerable populations or in exposed areas could suffer very serious or catastrophic impacts.’

The southern coast of Valencia and northern Alicante could receive falls of 300mm throughout Monday as Storm Adam continues its path of destruction. 

Emergency services have responded to more than 100 calls since the deluge began on Saturday, mostly from people trapped in their cars in floodwaters. 

Shocking footage shared to X shows large recycling bins and a car sailing downstream and a truck trapped in the muddy water. 

Tourists and residents have been urged to stay indoors, avoid all non-essential travel and steer clear of low-lying roads, riverbeds and beachfronts.

Those in Valencia received an emergency alert on their phones on Saturday afternoon reminding them to stay indoors as the floods raged outside.

Public buildings such as libraries, cemeteries and gardens have been closed and football matches and concerts have been cancelled.

Roads have been closed or restricted amid a fear of landslides.  

The storm has caused widespread flooding in El Palo, east of Malaga’s city centre, and further inland in Axarquia, home to thousands of British expats. 

The south-east province of Almeria has also been badly affected, with cars trapped and basements flooded in municipalities such as El Ejido. 

It comes as two elderly people were rescued after becoming trapped in their cars in floodwaters in Sentmenat, a municipality in the Valles Occidental region of Catalonia. 

Floodwaters submerged streets following torrential rain in Barcelona earlier this month

Floodwaters submerged streets following torrential rain in Barcelona earlier this month

An aerial view of floods in Catalunya earlier this month is pictured. Two people died during those storms, one a 75-year-old man after a campsite wall collapsed on top of him in Tordera close to the Costa Brava coastline and another man in a flooded garage in Montornes del Valles

An aerial view of floods in Catalunya earlier this month is pictured. Two people died during those storms, one a 75-year-old man after a campsite wall collapsed on top of him in Tordera close to the Costa Brava coastline and another man in a flooded garage in Montornes del Valles

On Thursday, the body of a 12-year-old boy, named only as Rami, was found after he went missing during a storm in Spain’s Catalonia region on October 4. 

Officials confirmed his body had been found by a fisherman off a beach in the holiday resort of Sitges on Wednesday after he disappeared earlier this month. 

Rami had Level 2 autism, with reports stating he had fled his home in Granollers near Barcelona after becoming frightened and disorientated during the night. 

An online appeal was put out by a non-profit organisation on behalf of his family as volunteers joined police and other officials in the search. 

A second person went missing around the same time as Rami, a man who is believed to have fallen into a flooded river in Pineda de Mar, north of Barcelona.

Two people died during storms earlier this month, one a 75-year-old man after a campsite wall collapsed on top of him in Tordera close to the Costa Brava coastline and another man in a flooded garage in Montornes del Valles, in Barcelona.

The army had to be sent to Ibiza twice last year because of flooding chaos.

The airport was left out of action for nearly an hour after being battered for the second time in less than a fortnight by Storm Alice.

Torrential rain on September 30 last year caused problems including flooding at Ibiza nightclubs and hotels. Three people were injured when rocks smashed into the four-star Vibra Tropical Garden Apartments in Ibiza Town.

Tourists reaching Ibiza at the time on ferries were pictured stepping into knee-deep water as they got off the boat.

Storm Adam comes two years after mass flash floods in Valencia claimed 214 lives. 

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