Today marks 67 years since the wettest day on record in Malaga, causing streets to turn into rivers and forcing the closure of the airport

Friday 27 September 1957 saw the highest accumulated rainfall in a 24-hour period since official weather records have been kept in the city. The torrential downpour also reached Torremolinos and Fuengirola, where it caused extensive damage

Rossel Aparicio

Malaga

Friday, 27 September 2024, 14:13

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Friday 27 September 1957 began with the threat of rain in Malaga. At around six o'clock in the morning, the forecast was fulfilled: it began to rain "torrentially", according to the newspaper published at the time by Diario SUR. "The streets of the city centre and neighbourhoods were completely flooded" and, in some places, the water reached a depth of one and a half metres. Cars were stranded in the streets and residents tied themselves together in order to enter their homes without being swept away by the water. On that fateful day, the city came to a standstill for a few hours and several personal injuries and numerous accidents were recorded as a result of the downpour.

That day, 67 years ago, also saw the highest accumulated rainfall in one day since records have been kept, as José Luis Escudero recalls in his SUR blog 'Tormentas y Rayos' (storms and lightning, up to 313mm metre fell in one hour. The Malaga weather expert pointed out that just the day before there had been a landfall and cloudless skies, but that Friday, however, heavy rain began to fall, accompanied by thunder in succession.

According to the pages of SUR, large areas and districts of Malaga were flooded by a "violent storm". From the early hours of the morning, travel links with El Palo and Huelin were complicated and rail services to Fuengirola and Vélez-Málaga were suspended. The airport was also closed and buses to Churriana, Alhaurín el Grande and Coín were cancelled. "The road to Cadiz was blocked from the early hours of the morning, preventing the passage of vehicles. Numerous foreign and Spanish cars were grouped on the Explanada de la Estación on one side, and on the other, by the Azucarera", reported the newspaper.

"Numerous streets suffered the consequences of the waterspout and many houses had to be evacuated because of the threat of destruction," it said. "Late in the evening, communications began to be restored.

Injured in Tiro Pichón

According to this newspaper at the time, an electric spark in the Tiro de Pichón neighbourhood caused two injuries on that day: a 13-year-old boy and a 24-year-old young woman, both residents of the area. Both were taken to the Casa del Socorro de La Explanada de la Estación and to the Civil Hospital.

The downpour also reached Torremolinos and Fuengirola where it caused a lot of damage. "More than 250 hens drowned on one farm. A horse and a donkey were also drowned on other farms". Entire families were evicted and had to sleep outside their homes. Escudero recalls that there was a total of 12 hours of rain and that "Malaga Airport recorded 313mm and parts of the city more than 182 mm".

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