British man dies in flooding as summer storms hit eastern Spain

A British man has died after late summer storms caused flooding in large parts of eastern Spain with Barcelona and Valencia hit hard.

The victim’s body was found around 500 metres from his car in a swollen stream in Olivella an hour’s drive south of the Catalan capital after he was swept away by a cascading torrent of water.

A search was launched late on Wednesday night after a witness told emergency services he had seen a person getting out of his vehicle after it became trapped.

Officials confirmed on Thursday that the man was British.

The town hall official said: “It is normally a dry waterway but in exceptional circumstances fills with water.

“But the amount of water in it last night and the force the water was moving at was very exceptional.”

The alarm was raised around 11pm on Wednesday night by a witness and initial reports described the person missing as a woman.

Firefighters found the dead Brit’s body around 2.25am local time around 500 metres from his vehicle following a search involving drones and specialist divers.

He was travelling alone at the time. He has not been named. His widow is already understood to have been informed.

Local firefighters confirmed on X overnight: “In Olivella we have located the lifeless body of a man about 500 metres from the point where the vehicle swept away by the stream was found, in an accessible area.

“We have recovered the body and police have confirmed the man was the driver of the vehicle.”

The Brit, who has been described as middle-aged, is understood to have lived on a residential estate called Las Colinas which in English would translate as ‘The Hills.’

A spokesman for the regional Mossos d’Esquadra police force said: “The man who died was a 48-year-old British national who lived in the municipality of Olivella.”

Local firefighters confirmed on X: “In Olivella we have located the lifeless body of a man about 500 metres from the point where the vehicle swept away by the stream was found, in an accessible area.

“We have recovered the body and police have confirmed the man was the driver of the vehicle.”

Warnings known as ES-Alerts alerting locals and holidaymakers of danger were sent to people in parts of Catalonia, Valencia and Almeria further south overnight.

More than 20 flights were cancelled at Barcelona’s El Prat airport because of the torrential rain and Valencia’s airport was briefly closed, forcing the diversion of a dozen flights to Alicante further south.

The storms caused flooding in hospitals, leaving a storage area at Barcelona’s Vall d’Hebron Hospital under water, and affected metro services in both the Catalan capital and Valencia.

Wednesday night’s LaLiga match between Valencia-based team Levante and Athletic Bilbao was called off shortly before kick-off, with the footballers coming out to warm up before the torrential rain made play impossible and left spectators forced to wade through ankle-deep water outside the stadium after being sent home.

The Valencia region saw an estimated 8,700 lightning strikes between 8pm and 11pm on Wednesday night which caused at least one fire.

The flooding in Valencia province’s capital city of the same name brought back horror memories of the dana nearly two years ago that claimed the lives of 232 people including expat British pensioners Don and Terri Turner.

On Thursday Valencia remained on alert as well as areas like Alicante and Murcia further south.

Orihuela Town Hall, which is responsible for Costa Blanca resorts popular with British and Irish holidaymakers and home to thousands of expats, said in a statement late last night: “In view of the orange alert for rain and storms forecast for Thursday 17 September, Orihuela city council has adopted the following preventive measures:

“Suspension of classes at educational centres in Orihuela Costa throughout the entire day.

“Suspension of markets and suspension of outdoor leisure, recreational and sports activities throughout the municipality.

“The town hall asks everyone to exercise maximum caution. Avoid unnecessary travel and areas susceptible to flooding, do not cross watercourses, ravines, fords or flooded areas and secure outdoor objects that may be affected by the wind.”

Classes have also been suspended in a third of the municipalities that make up the region of Murcia.

Late on Wednesday night a bad weather warning was sent to the mobiles of people in the eastern part of the province of Almeria, which includes towns like Mojácar where actress Emily Atack celebrated her second wedding last weekend.

Antonio Sanz, Andalucía’s minister for health and emergencies, said on X referencing the 112 phone service which is the UK equivalent of 999: “Exercise maximum caution. Avoid unnecessary travel, follow the instructions from emergency services and call 112 in case of emergency.

“Don't take any chances.”

The English version of the warning alert that sounded on phones just before 10.30pm said: “An orange alert has been activated due to heavy rain and storms.

“Given this situation, exercise extreme caution and avoid unnecessary travel.”

Parts of Mallorca were also affected by heavy rain in the early hours of Thursday morning, with more bad weather predicted.