Catalonia issues new warning for torrential rain in Barcelona metropolitan area

Much of the infrastructure and public services, including schools and the Granollers hospital, have not yet recovered from the storm that struck between Saturday and Sunday.

Between Sunday and Monday, a new, unexpected storm formed over the sea. The Catalan regional government's civil protection department issued three alerts, warning of torrential rain until 2pm on Monday and urging the public to avoid non-essential travel.

On Monday, firefighters rescued a passenger from a Rodalies R2Nord train in Granollers, which was brought to a standstill by the rain, forcing the closure of sections of the N-2 in the Maresme, and the B-20 (Ronda de Dalt) near Santa Coloma de Gramanet.

The weekend's storm led to two deaths in Tordera and Montornés del Vallés, both in Barcelona. A number of incidents happened on the roads and the rail network in Catalonia.

Barcelona recorded its highest ever rainfall, exceeding 200mm, while coastal towns in the area, such as Vilassar de Mar, recorded over 250mm.

Initial reports on Monday's downpour suggest large rainfall accumulations in less than two hours. At the time of publishing, rainfall in Granollers had reached 85mm; 34mm in Parets del Vallès; and over 20mm in Castellbisbal, Sant Cugat, La Roca del Vallès and Sant Pere de Ribes.

On the Tenes river, a tributary of the Besòs, the flow rose from one cubic metre to 128 cubic metres per second in just one hour. This has once again increased the risk of the Besòs river overflowing at its mouth, between the towns of Santa Coloma and Badalona.

Between 8am and 10am on Monday, the Catalan regional government's fire service received around 100 calls relating to the heavy rain and the risk of flooding, which prompted to 13 rescue operations. Since the start of the storm, the fire service has received 2,711 calls.

Access the latest 112 emergency and rescue news hub