SAWT BEIRUT INTERNATIONAL

| 21 September 2023, Thursday |

Subway, train lines, roads closed in Madrid, central Spain after heavy rain

After severe rain pounded central Spain on Monday, a few metro lines in Madrid and high-speed train links with southern towns were suspended, and two individuals went missing.

Overnight, emergency services were involved in about 1,200 incidents in the region, and firemen and police were looking for two missing males in the rural area of Aldea del Fresno, southwest of Madrid, according to Javier Chivite, the region’s emergency services spokeswoman.

“Two people are missing, a father and his son, they were in a vehicle that got caught in an avalanche caused by the spate of the Alberche river,” Chivite added. “We are hopeful that this will have a positive outcome.”

Several roads in the Madrid region were closed as half a dozen bridges were torn down by water overflowing the riverbanks.

The sudden torrential rain that hit the country transformed streets into rivers in Madrid, Castile, Catalonia and Valencia regions. Hail also fell in many areas.

The heavy rainfall was waning on Monday morning, though. Rain continued in most of the country, but the National Weather Agency on Monday lowered the alert level to yellow from orange and red on Sunday.

Several subway lines were closed in the centre of Madrid on Monday morning. Some high-speed connections between Madrid and Andalusia region, in southern Spain, resumed later on Monday, but trains were operating at lower-than-normal speeds.

    Source:
  • Reuters