Severe hailstorms and floods trigger destruction across eastern Spain

A torrential downpour and hailstorm has brought fresh chaos to parts of Spain.

The east coast city of Tarragona experienced some of the worst weather, with one man filmed being swept down a street turned into a river as another still on his feet tried to keep up with him by running along the pavement.

Part of a shopping centre roof came down during the storm, although no-one is thought to have been injured.

The extreme weather also caused the deaths of around 100 pigeons in Tarragona Port which were reportedly caught out by hail.

Surreal images showed their lifeless bodies lying on the tarmac. One local said: “The birds didn’t have time to protect themselves and they were victims of the violent storm that hit the area with intense rain, strong gusts of wind and lightning."

Eleven people were injured in the early hours of Saturday morning during freak weather in and around the town of Roda de Bera a half-hour drive north of the city of Tarragona.

They included an 18-year-old woman left fighting for her life after a seafront wall collapsed on top of her and another two people.

Yesterday afternoon’s storm which unleashed its fury a few miles south resulted in more than 1,000 emergency calls.

Firefighters and other emergency responders were mobilised to deal with incidents including flooded basements and fallen trees which in some cases had come down on cars, as well as road closures.

Residents in some parts of Tarragona, just over an hour's drive south of Barcelona, were left without electricity.

Three people are understood to have been injured and taken to hospital, although none were described as serious.

Tarragona wasn’t the only area affected by bad weather yesterday.

The third stage of Spain’s annual Vuelta a Espana, one of cycling’s three ‘Grand Tours’ alongside the Tour de France and the Giro d’Italia, had to be cancelled after competitors were caught out by a hailstorm.

Riders had to stop and take cover where they could find it as they headed towards the Font-Romeu ski resort in the French Pyrenees where they were due to finish.

Event organisers confirmed afterwards the cancellation was for the “safety of riders.”

Yesterday the Balearic Islands were hit by a series of mini-tsunamis which in the Ibizan party resort of San Antonio forced the suspension of a concert.

A sudden change in the sea level led to water flooding the main s’Arenal beach in San Antonio yesterday morning.

An area where the concert was due to take place was left covered by seawater which swept away containers, coolers and bars installed for the event.

The stage prepared for the event, a tribute concert celebrating the music of a famous Spanish rock band organised as part of an annual summer celebration held in San Antonio, was also surrounded by seawater.

San Antonio Town Hall reacted by announcing the cancellation of the 10pm event “for security reasons.”

In Majorca the mini-tsunamis, known locally as rissagues, affected the ports of Alcudia, Andratx and Soller as well as Port Adriano in the municipality of Calvia which includes resorts like Magaluf.

In Puerto Alcudia the sea swept onto part of the beachfront promenade this afternoon and left holidaymakers having to wade through the water.

It also surprised tourists enjoying drinks at a terrace bar at the back of the beach.

Ciutadella in Menorca was also put on standby with warnings of oscillations in the sea level of up to four feet (1.2 metres) which were due to remain in place till midnight last night but were lifted slightly earlier in the end.

The first mini-tsunami hit the area at just before 8am, with the change in sea level recorded at 86 centimetres or 2.8 feet.

There were no immediate reports of any injuries.

The extreme weather phenomenons known in the Balearics as rissagues are caused by sudden atmospheric pressure changes rather than earthquakes or seismic activities and are not new to the islands. Harbours are the main risk areas.

In July 2018 mini-tsunamis reaching up to five feet flooded coastal roads, beach bars, and restaurant terraces in areas like Alcudia, Andratx, and Porto Cristo as well as snapping boat moorings and dragging vessels out to sea.

Tourists were seen running to avoid getting soaked and potentially knocked over by the strong currents.