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Car trapped below a railbridge in Arroyo de la Miel early this Monday morning. SUR
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Torrential downpours cause long traffic jams and travel chaos on Costa del Sol roads

A motorist has been rescued from her car after it became submerged up to roof level in a railway underpass in Arroyo de la Miel, Benalmádena

Ignacio Lillo

Malaga

Monday, 3 February 2025, 11:13

The downpour that took some Costa del Sol residents by surprise during the early morning rush hour this Monday is causing long traffic jams on the Costa del Sol's road network.

A woman had to be rescued from her submerged car below the railbridge in Arroyo de la Miel in Benalmádena. "She was alone but managed to get out of the window at the last moment. I had to get into the water to save her and take her home," explained a local resident. The car was left on the waterlogged road, with the water up to the roof and the boot open.

The DGT traffic centre said that at around 8am the right lane of the A-7 at the Calaburras lighthouse in Mijas was cut off due to a large pool of water on the road, while the left lane was difficult to pass and had to be approached at a very low speed.

"Cars have had to slow down to 30 km/h on several stretches because there was so much water on the road," a resident explained to SUR. Traffic reports show that there have been traffic jams of about three kilometres in both directions, between Torremolinos, Benalmádena, Fuengirola and La Cala de Mijas.

The Benalmádena exit, closed off

The heavy rain which has been falling since 6am in the municipality of Benalmádena has slowed down traffic. The local police reported that the exit to the motorway in the direction of Malaga was blocked, and asked the public to avoid unnecessary journeys and to take extreme caution.

The town council has already activated the municipal emergency plan and reinforced the police and fire departments, as well as the operational services in view of the number of incidents caused by the storm in the municipality. It is estimated that up to 66 millimetres of rain have fallen so far, in just over an hour.

According to fire chief David Bañasco, most of the incidents are due to large puddles in different parts of the city, as well as the flooding of private garages and vehicles.

There were the usual Monday rush hour traffic jams on other roads, especially on the Guadalhorce dual carriageway, the Rincón bypass, the Ronda Este ring road in El Palo and the Carlos Haya tunnel. There have been some minor rear-end accidents.

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surinenglish Torrential downpours cause long traffic jams and travel chaos on Costa del Sol roads