This Saturday, the Generalitat has asked the population to stay at home and limit any movement to what is strictly necessary in light of the alert for a “mini Mediterranean hurricane” that will affect Catalonia early in the evening. Civil Protection has activated its highest alert level in the face of an episode that Meteocat considers exceptional, with the possibility of more than 200 liters per square meter accumulating in less than six hours, in addition to storms, very strong wind and phenomena such as sea waves or tornadoes. This Saturday, the Generalitat also registered an earthquake of magnitude 3.1 in the sea, between Catalonia and the Balearic Islands, which has not caused damage nor has it been perceived in Catalan territory.
The Minister of the Interior, Núria Parlon, has insisted that the alert urges people to “stay at home” due to the risk for people and mobility. The Government has restricted movement from 8:00 p.m. this Saturday until 2:00 p.m. on Sunday in a large part of the coast and pre-coast. The measure affects the coastline and pre-coastline of Tarragona, Barcelona and Girona, as well as Osona and Moianès. Renfe has suspended a large part of the train service and the Barcelona metro, where the rain has caused water to enter several stations, will close at midnight. The rainfall has also caused significant flooding in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, especially in Bellvitge. At the meteorological station in the Zona Universitària de Barcelona, 102.8 liters per square meter have been recorded in two hours.
The first hours of the restrictions have already left numerous incidents in the metropolitan area and other parts of the coast. The Medical Emergency System (SEM) has received 22 alerts, 12 of which have required the transfer of people to health centers, none in serious condition. Telephone 112 has answered more than 2,000 calls during the episode, about 1,400 related to flooding. Firefighters have accumulated hundreds of warnings and the rains have forced them to cut roads, flood basements and garages and close accesses in several municipalities.
The intensity of the rain has been especially noticeable in Barcelona and Baix Llobregat. Meteocat has recorded 107.5 liters per square meter at the Zona Universitària station in Barcelona and 82.7 in El Prat de Llobregat. In L'Hospitalet, especially in Bellvitge, there have been significant floods, while in Barcelona the water has entered several metro stations. The C-32 has been cut off in Esplugues de Llobregat due to accumulation of water.
The president, Salvador Illa, has reinforced the call after chairing a follow-up meeting of the Inuncat plan at the Operational Coordination Center of Catalonia (CECAT). "The situation cannot be underestimated. Stay at home," Illa warned, asking citizens of the affected regions to follow the instructions of Civil Protection and comply with the restrictions. The president has described the situation as “exceptional” and has appealed for “maximum prudence and responsibility.” Various municipalities such as Barcelona, Terrassa, Mataró or Sant Cugat have set up reception centers. La Creu Roja has made available a hundred places in hostels.
The threat of storms led to the cancellation of the demonstration against the fall of the housing decrees from the first hour. The Llogateres Union told the assembly of people camped in Plaça de Catalunya to take shelter at home in the face of the storm. The Civil Protection notices have affected sports, cultural and leisure activities, both outdoors and in closed spaces when they involve travel. In Barcelona, parks, municipal markets, Tibidabo, the Zoo and Park Güell have closed and concerts and other cultural activities have been suspended. The Liceu, the Teatre Lliure and the Mercat de les Flors have canceled performances, while the Catalan Football Federation has suspended the day and other sporting events such as Asisa Joventut-MoraBanc Andorra, of the Endesa League, have been cancelled. Department stores have advanced the closing of their doors. The Concurs de Castells, in Tarragona, and the women's Barça-Madrid classic tomorrow have postponed their schedule to be outside the alert zone.
In transport, Renfe has suspended the Rodalies service since 8:00 p.m. — with some exceptions in Lleida and Tarragona — as well as the Regional and Medium Distance services in the Barcelona area. Several high-speed, Avant and Euromed services between Barcelona, Girona and Figueres have also been cancelled, including some early on Sunday. The Barcelona metro will stop running between midnight and five in the morning. At the Barcelona-El Prat airport, widespread delays are also being recorded and complications are expected for the next few hours. The Vueling company offers free changes on flights from Barcelona scheduled until 3:00 p.m. on Sunday.
The Government has sent an alert this afternoon restricting mobility from 8:00 p.m. tonight to 3:00 p.m. this Sunday in the coastal and pre-coastal regions of Tarragona, Barcelona, Girona and the regions of Osona and Moianès. The Civil Protection and the Servei Meteorològic de Catalunya (Meteocat) have warned that the situation “can become very complicated” in the coming hours until reaching an “exceptional episode.” The maximum impact is expected around midnight and torrential rains may be recorded, with accumulations of more than 40 millimeters in half an hour and more than 200 liters per square meter in about six hours.
Weather models, according to emergency services, point to the formation of a mesoscale convective system (MCS), a large group of highly organized storms that can remain active for several hours and generate very intense rain, strong gusts of wind and even tornadoes and sea sleeves. It is this phenomenon that Illa has described as a “mini-Mediterranean hurricane.” “All the warnings we have are activated and in red,” warned Sergi Segalà, head of the Prediction Area of the Meteorological Service of Catalonia (Meteocat), in a press conference. Meteocat has raised the warnings for intense rainfall in 17 regions to the maximum danger level, 6 out of 6.
In Terres de l'Ebre, the rains fell again this Saturday morning with intensity after a few hours of respite. “It is raining in this area,” the emergency service has warned on social networks, reminding that the land is very saturated and that any intense storm can cause rapid flooding of streams and ravines and flooding in urban areas. Barcelona, the central coast and the Costa Brava, where a good part of the Catalan population is concentrated, are also affected by bad weather.
Last night Civil Protection downgraded the Inuncat plan from emergency to alert after the intensity of the rainfall decreased. On Friday, the episode left exceptional records in the Montsià and Baix Ebre regions: L'Ametlla de Mar accumulated 246.9 liters per square meter; Les Cases d’Alcanar, 231.7; and Mas de Barberans, 226.7. In Perelló, 154.8 liters fell in just three hours. After several hours without precipitation, this Saturday morning the first arm of rain associated with the deep disturbance located off the coast entered the south of the Ebro delta. According to forecasts, rainfall will progressively advance towards the rest of the territory.
