File: A picture taken on October 31, 2024 shows the Spanish flag flying at half-mast at the start of three days of national mourning after Spain's deadliest floods in decades, at Cibeles Square in Madrid. (Photo by Oscar Del Pozo / AFP)
Madrid: Three people went missing after torrential rains caused flooding in southern Spain, the Guardia Civil police said Sunday, calling on the population to exercise extreme caution.
Spain has been exceptionally strongly affected by climate change in recent years, resulting in longer heatwaves and more frequent episodes of heavy rain.
More than 230 people lost their lives in heavy flooding in October 2024, mostly in the Valencia region in the east of the country, with the government at the time coming under heavy criticism for its handling of the catastrophe.
On Sunday, videos posted on social media showed villages in southern Spain inundated overnight. Emergency services were deployed for cleanup operations.
The Guardia Civil said it was looking for two missing people near Malaga, and for another person around Granada.
The national weather service lowered its warning level from red to orange for the southern Andalusia region late Sunday morning, but heavy downpours were still pounding the coast around Valencia, with authorities warning of inundations and flash floods.
The neighbouring region of Murcia was also still hit by heavy rain.
