Four dead as torrential rain batters eastern Spain

Cars swept away, roads submerged, residents isolated in parts of Spain’s Mediterranean coast.

Emergency personnel assist a person rescued via helicopter from an area affected by floods caused by torrential rains in eastern Spain, in Oliva, Valencian community, Spain, on October 19, 2026 [Eva Manez/Reuters]

Four people have been killed as torrential rainfall sweeping eastern Spain triggered severe flooding, evacuations and shelter-in-place orders for tens of thousands of people, authorities said on Monday.

The downpour from Storm Adam, which started on Saturday, dumped as much as 700 litres of rain (185 gallons) per square metre in 24 hours in some areas of the Valencia region.

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Floodwaters have since isolated several towns along the Mediterranean coast, while rivers have burst their banks and streets have turned into torrents, leaving scenes reminiscent of the catastrophic flooding that killed more than 230 people in the Valencia region two years ago.

The storm is confirmed to have killed four people: two in the coastal resort of Oliva, a third at a beach in Sagunto, and a fourth who fell into a swollen stream in Catalonia.

On Monday morning, 800,000 residents were under shelter-in-place orders, but that was reduced to 87,000 in eight municipalities by late afternoon.

Security forces carried out more than 400 rescues in the Valencia region, according to government representative Pilar Bernabe.

People stranded on rooftops have been winched to safety amid widespread evacuations.

The storm, which also lashed the Balearic Islands and Catalonia, prompted authorities to order about 100 municipalities to remain indoors for several hours on Monday.

Most restrictions were lifted by early afternoon as conditions improved, the regional government said.

A woman walks on a mud-covered street following torrential rains, which caused floods in eastern Spain, in Els Poblets, Alicante province, Spain, on October 19, 2026 [Eva Manez/Reuters]

In Els Poblets, northeast of Alicante, cars and vans were piled on top of one another from the force of the water, as residents tried to salvage what they could from their homes.

“The village, well, it’s a disaster. Some people have lost everything all over again, just like in 2007, when exactly the same thing happened,” resident Javier Fornez said.

More than 2,000 people were evacuated, mainly in Oliva, and authorities carried out nearly 100 rescues in Valencia and Alicante on Monday, the Civil Guard police said.

The mayor of Pego, Enrique Moll, told public regional broadcaster A Punt radio on Monday that several people were still waiting to be evacuated by helicopter from their roofs. All access routes to the town were blocked, he added.

The deputy mayor of Oliva, Salvador Llopis, told state broadcaster TVE on Monday that emergency services were rescuing trapped residents, particularly elderly people stuck inside their homes with water up to their waists.

National weather agency AEMET announced on Friday that last month was mainland Spain’s hottest September on record, after registering its warmest summer between June and August.

汽车被洪水冲走，道路被淹没，西班牙地中海沿岸部分地区的居民被困。

2026年10月19日，在西班牙瓦伦西亚自治区奥利瓦，紧急救援人员协助一名从西班牙东部暴雨引发的洪水灾区通过直升机获救的人员。[Eva Manez/路透社]

周一，当局表示，西班牙东部遭遇暴雨袭击，引发严重洪灾，造成四人死亡，数万人被迫撤离并就地避难。

周六开始的亚当风暴带来的暴雨，在瓦伦西亚地区的某些地区，24 小时内每平方米降雨量高达 700 升（185 加仑）。

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西班牙暴雨过后，洪水裹挟着汽车在街道上行驶（共3条，此为第3条）

洪水已导致地中海沿岸多个城镇与外界隔绝，河水决堤，街道变成湍急的洪流，景象令人想起两年前瓦伦西亚地区造成 230 多人死亡的灾难性洪水。

这场风暴已确认造成四人死亡：两人在沿海度假胜地奥利瓦遇难，一人在萨贡托海滩遇难，还有一人在加泰罗尼亚落入湍急的溪流中丧生。

周一上午，80万居民处于居家避难令之下，但到下午晚些时候，8个市镇的这一数字减少到8.7万人。

据政府代表皮拉尔·贝尔纳贝称，安全部队在瓦伦西亚地区进行了 400 多起救援行动。

在广泛的疏散行动中，被困在屋顶上的人们已被用绞车吊到安全地带。

这场风暴还袭击了巴利阿里群岛和加泰罗尼亚，促使当局下令约 100 个市镇的居民在周一待在室内几个小时。

地区政府表示，随着情况好转，大部分限制措施在当天下午早些时候解除。

2026年10月19日，在西班牙东部阿利坎特省埃尔斯波布莱茨，一名女子走在暴雨过后泥泞的街道上，暴雨引发了洪水。[Eva Manez/路透社]

在阿利坎特东北部的埃尔斯波布莱茨，洪水将汽车和货车冲得叠在一起，居民们试图从家中抢救出能抢救的东西。

“这个村子简直是一场灾难。有些人再次失去了一切，就像2007年那样，当时同样的事情也发生了，”居民哈维尔·福尔内斯说道。

国民警卫队表示，周一，超过 2000 人被疏散，主要集中在奥利瓦，当局在瓦伦西亚和阿利坎特进行了近 100 次救援行动。

佩戈市市长恩里克·莫尔周一告诉当地公共广播电台A Punt，仍有一些人被困在屋顶上，等待直升机撤离。他还补充说，通往该镇的所有道路都被封锁了。

奥利瓦副市长萨尔瓦多·洛皮斯周一告诉国家广播公司TVE，紧急救援人员正在营救被困居民，特别是那些被困在家中、水淹到腰部的老年人。

西班牙国家气象局AEMET周五宣布，上个月是西班牙大陆有记录以来最热的9月，此前6月至8月也经历了最热的夏季。