The night in Malaga city looked set to be a difficult one and the Aemet (state weather agency) forecasts proved accurate. Storm Adam has taken ... its toll on the eastern coastal strip of the city and the neighbouring town of Rincón de la Victoria, leaving in its wake a trail of flooded streets, power cuts and distress among the local population.
The most significant incident of the early hours took place just before midnight, when the emergency services had to intervene to rescue ten people trapped in the tunnel area of the old N-340, next to the Peñón del Cuervo beach.
The situation called for a rapid response. The build-up of water, which at times rose above the ankles, turned the passageway into a trap that prevented those affected from leaving unaided. The fire brigade successfully resolved the incident and rescued the group without any serious consequences.
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This operation at Peñón del Cuervo marked the start of a very challenging early morning for civil protection personnel and the emergency services. According to Ema (the Andalusian emergency agency) early on Sunday, the services dealt with 89 incidents overnight, mainly in the province of Malaga.
The El Palo district can be considered "ground zero". From 12.12am onwards, the emergency services received a constant stream of calls and recorded more than 50 reports, the vast majority of which concerned flooding in homes, garages, business premises and roads.
The Axarquía area was under a red alert for three hours.
Power cuts in Malaga and Estepona
The heavy rainfall impacted essential services. Malaga city and Estepona reported problems with the electricity supply.
The road network has not escaped the ravages of water and mud either. At 12.45am, the traffic management centre reported that the MA-3101 road was completely closed between kilometre 1 and 25 in both directions due to landslides.
The institutional machinery remains on high alert. The Peri Andalusian flood risk emergency plan remains in force at operational level 1 due to the continuing storms.
Fortunately, the majority of the incidents have been resolved without any injuries. Malaga city, Fuengirola, Torremolinos and Rincón de la Victoria have activated their local emergency plans.
The province remains under close scrutiny by Aemet this Sunday. The Ronda area will be under an amber alert in the afternoon, while other areas such as Sol and Guadalhorce, the Axarquía and Antequera remain under yellow alerts. The advice from the emergency services is unequivocal: avoid road journeys that are not strictly essential and do not drive through flooded areas.
Emergency in Malaga
Malaga city council has carried out around 30 operations to deal with the incidents early this morning, with no reports of personal injury. Firefighters from three fire stations across the city have been responding to incidents involving flooding in vehicles and homes, rescuing people trapped in their vehicles, and dealing with fallen trees.
Apart from the ten people trapped at Peñón del Cuervo, the fire brigade rescued the passengers of two other vehicles (one on Avenida Salvador Allende and the other on Calle Robalo), from Plaza Miramar in El Palo and from two homes on Pasaje Amaranto and Salvador Allende.
The police also closed certain roads and diverted traffic to prevent vehicles from entering flooded areas.
Meanwhile, municipal cleaning company Limasam is cleaning up the affected areas in the east and replacing bins that have been displaced. This operation will continue throughout the day. Similarly, water company Emasa's technicians are replacing manhole covers that were dislodged and removing debris carried away by the water.
The Sol and Guadalhorce area will remain under a yellow warning until 9.59pm on Sunday.