After last week's storms, an inland animal shelter appeals for help

The head of the association, María Serrano, described the situation as critical this week. "We'll take a long time to get back to normal, but we need help urgently," she said.

With the centre cut off to vehicles, the organisers were appealing for volunteers to help them rebuild the wall, including companies who might want to donate materials.

Monda's mayor, Francisco Sánchez, has said that the town hall has been overwhelmed with requests for help in the past week after rain swept some rural properties away and cut off roads.

Clean-up operation

As the clean-up operation continues, the damage caused to private property by last week's downpours in the province of Malaga was estimated as being worth some 16 million euros. This first figure, offered by the Consorcio de Compensación de Seguros - a central government insurance body which covers damage caused by natural phenomena - was expected to vary over the following days as the full extent of the damage was assessed.

Last Friday, the majority of claims processed, explained the central government delegate in the province of Malaga, María Gámez, were for damage caused to vehicles mainly in the Marbella and San Pedro Alcántara area, which made up around 20 per cent of the 15-million estimate.