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A powerful Mediterranean storm has continued to wreak havoc across Spain, claiming the life of one woman and causing travel chaos across the holiday hotspot.
Storm Adam has prompted Ibiza airport to close, with flights diverted to other parts of the country as the party island and other regions in western Spain battle heavy rain.
It comes as weather agency AEMET had issued warnings for torrential rain as the storm approached on Saturday, issuing the highest red alert in the eastern region of Valencia, scarred by Spain’s deadliest floods in a generation in 2024.
The death toll has now reached five after a woman was swept away on Saturday trying to cross a river in torrential rain the Catalonia region – about 27km north of Barcelona – with her children, authorities said.
Óscar Fernández, the Cabrera de Mar mayor, told reporters that the woman had been to see a basketball match at which people were asked not to leave the municipal facility because of the torrential rain.
The woman’s body was found by rescuers in the sea, the Civil Protection Service said.
Emergency services in the regions of Valencia, Catalonia, Andalusia and the Balearic Islands, which include the holiday hotspots of Mallorca and Ibiza, reported hundreds of incidents linked to flooded homes, roads, fallen trees and material damage.
Mass telephone alerts were sent in Valencia as well as Ibiza and neighbouring Formentera, urging the population to avoid unnecessary travel and exercise caution.
In Ibiza, roads were transformed into lakes of murky water on which giant garbage bins floated, partially submerging cars, and beach resorts that host the island’s famous nightclub scene were deserted.
The main motorway to Ibiza airport was closed, with at least five flights cancelled, 16 diverted and others delayed, according to operator Aena.
Images taken inside the airport show just how much destruction the floods have caused.
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Footage shows sewers inside the airport have overflowed in the departures area.
“Airport not operational,” air traffic controllers said in a post on X.
“We continue to manage mass diversions to alternative airports”, it added.
Several large tarpaulins covering the airport’s outdoor area have collapsed under the weight of collecting water while parking areas and approaching motorways have been blocked off by floods, The Sun reported.
The army deployed its emergency units from the mainland to help deal with the crisis in Ibiza and Mallorca.
In the Andalusian province of Almeria, the emergency services said the deluge left “people isolated by the water” and reported “37 rescues” since Saturday.
Outside the popular tourist destination of Malaga on Saturday night, 10 people were trapped in the tunnel of a beach promenade as the water surged above their ankles, forcing firefighters to save them, they said.
Scientists say human-driven climate change is intensifying the Mediterranean storms that typically hit eastern Spain in autumn as the sea absorbs heat during the summer, leading to increased evaporation and heavier rainfall.
This week, AEMET announced that last month was mainland Spain’s hottest September on record, after the country registered its warmest summer between June and August.
