The DANA weather system Storm Adam began to ease on Tuesday after leaving at least five people dead and causing severe flooding in eastern Spain, authorities said. In the Valencia region, the Civil Guard evacuated more than 2,100 people and rescued almost 500 since the start of the storm, according to the latest update released by the force. Spain's La Vanguardia, on its front page Wednesday, put the death toll at seven.
The downpour, which started on Saturday, dumped as much as 700 litres of rain per square metre in 24 hours in some areas of the Valencia region. The Valencian town of Oliva was among the worst affected, with around 600 litres per square metre in 24 hours; Pego registered 632 litres in 36 hours, 430 of them in just six. Rivers including the Girona and Vernissa burst their banks, streets turned into torrents, and several towns along the Mediterranean coast were left isolated, scenes reminiscent of the catastrophic 2024 flooding that killed more than 230 people in the region.
Emergency operations deployed more than 1,300 Civil Guard officers, with helicopters, boats and specialised units for water and mountain rescues, plus military emergency units and the Guardia Civil evacuating people from rooftops. At the height of the storm, 145 municipalities were placed under confinement orders, La Vanguardia reported. Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez visited Valencia on Tuesday to see the impact of the storm.
Although the rain has lost intensity in the Valencia region and stay-at-home orders have been lifted, Spain's State Meteorological Agency, AEMET, is keeping warnings in place in nine provinces, with particular attention to the rainfall forecast in Catalonia and the Balearic Islands, where Ibiza airport saw water cascading through terminal ceilings and flight diversions. The floods have renewed questions about climate adaptation and emergency preparedness two years after Valencia's catastrophic disaster.