Heavy rains and storm hit Catalonia, washes away cars, emergency services inundated with calls

Terrible footage comes today from Spanish Catalonia - heavy rains caused devastating floods. The first floors of the buildings went under water, a powerful current blows away cars on the streets.

The storm left thousands of residents of the region without electricity and communications. In other areas, landslides came down, which covered the tracks. The authorities are preparing the population for evacuation.

Earlier it was reported that 10 people were killed and another 50 were injured due to heavy rains and floods in Italy.
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Heavy rainfall in Spain has caused flooding strong enough to wash away cars, with emergency services inundated with calls from panicked residents.

Video circulating on Twitter shows floodwaters rushing along the road in Tarragona, Catalan, and in some areas, it is high enough to run over the top of parked cars.

In another clip, cars were washed down the road with water fast and strong enough to lift and move the vehicles.
The Meteorological Service of Catalonia reported over 100 mm (3.9 inches) of rainfall in the area on Friday, 23 September.
Local emergency services said they have answered 759 calls for help this evening, with 460 regarding incidents involving the rain.
Of those calls, 473 were made from Tarragona.

Officials have warned that intense downpours would continue overnight and may be accompanied by strong wind, hail, lightning, and tornados.

Spanish press reported trains had been cancelled and roads closed because of the rains.Local festivities known as Santa Tecla were suspended on Friday evening – the first time it had been due to take place since the COVID lockdown.

In Barcelona, some concerts related to the city’s biggest festivity La Merce – which started this Friday – have also been moved indoors due to the threat of heavy rain, overnight.

In Tarragona, and especially its Serrallo neighborhood as well as the Plaça Imperial Tarraco square and the lower floors of the Santa Tecla hospital, has been particularly hard-hit by the storm, but other parts of southern Catalonia have also been affected, with rainwater even sweeping away cars in some areas.

Catalan Mossos d'Esquadra police have had to partially evacuate the Les Palmeres campsite in the southern Catalan city due to the flooding.
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