Amber and yellow weather warnings in place in Malaga province this Sunday following Saturday’s downpours

This led state weather agency Aemet to issue a red warning for the Axarquía shortly after midnight, until 3am, and to raise the alert to amber until the same time for the rest of the province, excluding the Antequera region.

The warning indicated rainfall in excess of 60mm in an hour, a forecast that was exceeded in El Palo on the east side of the city, where up to 60mm fell in half an hour (120 in an hour), much to the surprise of local residents.

A sudden, unexpected downpour that turned streets into rivers and, as shown in videos posted on social media, affected many homes.

According to the Andalusian regional government, 89 incidents related to the rain and storms were dealt with in the early hours of Sunday morning, 73 of them in the province of Malaga, which has been the worst affected in recent hours.

The rainfall caused flooding in homes and on roads, landslides, people trapped by the water and problems with the electricity supply, particularly in Malaga city and the surrounding area, according to the 112 emergency service’s report.

In addition, the DGT traffic authority has reported that the Montes road in the city - the MA-3101 - is closed in both directions at kilometres 1 and 25 due to landslides.

In Malaga city, at 11.57pm on Saturday, a report was received that ten people were trapped in the area of the Peñón del Cuervo beach tunnel. The build-up of water, which was above their ankles, prevented them from leaving the area. The fire service took part in the operation and the incident was resolved without any serious consequences.

And this Sunday, the situation continues. Aemet has issued yellow and amber alerts across the province (in the case of Ronda, where up to 30 litres of rain are forecast in an hour) until 10pm.

During the morning on Saturday, storm Adam brought heavy storms that particularly affected the Serranía de Ronda and the Guadalteba region.

By late afternoon, the accumulated rainfall had exceeded 40mm in Cañete la Real, according to the Hidrosur network, while Ronda was dealing with several incidents of flooding.

The Ronda area remains under an amber warning for rainfall until midnight. Rain and storms continued throughout the day across the province, and around midnight a thunderstorm swept across the area around Malaga, bringing frequent lightning strikes and heavy rainfall in various parts of the city such as in the El Palo neighbourhood . Heavy rain was also recorded at times in the Axarquía area, leading to the activation of a red alert in that region.

The municipal report from Ronda includes minor flooding in homes and ground-floor premises, as well as pools of water on streets such as Virgen de la Paz, which was temporarily closed to traffic. Branches also fell onto vehicles on Avenida de Málaga, according to the mayor, María Paz Fernández.

On Juan Carlos I, there was a road traffic accident in which one person sustained minor injuries, while another person was injured after falling on the pavement at the junction of San José and Sevilla.

“Fortunately, we are returning to normality following the storm that hit Ronda,” said the mayor in a subsequent update, in which she confirmed that Virgen de la Paz had already reopened. Fernández thanked the Local Police, the other law enforcement agencies and the professionals involved for their work, as well as the public for their cooperation.

From the town centre, local resident Ángel Luna told SUR that water had accumulated on Calle de la Bola and next to the bullring. At 5.15pm, he pointed out that it had stopped raining in that area and played down the situation, attributing it to what usually happens in those spots when there is heavy downpour.

The intensity of the downpour was reflected in the measurements taken by the Hidrosur network. By 10pm, the Ronda station had recorded 21.9mm for the day, of which 19.1 had fallen in a single hour during the afternoon. In the two hours following the break at 5pm, barely another 1.8mm had been added, showing how the rainfall had lost intensity by that point.

Outside the Serranía, a warning has also been issued regarding standing water on the A-45, heading towards Las Pedrizas, near Antequera. The water on the carriageway is attributed to heavy rain, although, for the time being, it has not been necessary to close the road to traffic.

Various totals

Adam has brought heavy rainfall to some parts of inland Malaga, although it has been distributed very unevenly. According to Hidrosur’s records at 10pm, Cañete la Real was among the towns that had received the most rain, with 42.1mm. Much of this amount – 33.5mm – fell within a single hour during the afternoon.

Also noteworthy were the 39mm recorded at Majada de las Lomas, in Cortes de la Frontera, and the 25.8mm at Cuevas del Becerro, while Ronda recorded 21.9mm and the Genal River station in Jubrique recorded 16.7mm. Outside the official network, measurements taken by amateurs suggested figures in excess of 40mm in Arriate. In Atajate, the Finca Cuatro Vientos station had recorded 48.8mm which, according to the publication that reported its data, fell in just over half an hour.

The difference compared with other parts of the province was striking. At that same time, Pujerra had recorded barely half a millimetre and Villanueva de la Concepción, 0.3. Coín had recorded 2mm; El Torcal, 2.6; and the Fuente de Piedra wetlands, three. Slightly higher amounts were recorded by the rain gauges at the Guadalteba and Conde de Guadalhorce reservoirs, both at 6.7mm.