The first major autumn storm of the season, Storm Adam, swept across the Spanish Mediterranean over the weekend, leaving a trail of destruction and five ... confirmed fatalities.
Two women died in the province of Barcelona - one swept away by floodwaters in Cabrera de Mar and another while swimming at Almardà beach in Sagunto. Following a night of torrential downpours exceeding 600mm, two further victims died in the border region between southern Valencia and northern Alicante: an elderly woman trapped by rising waters in her flooded home in Oliva, and a man who suffered a fatal heart attack at a campsite during the storm.
Related story
On Monday afternoon, a fifth casualty was reported in Andalucía when a rockfall, triggered by heavy rain, struck a vehicle travelling along a secondary road in Benaoján, Malaga province, killing the driver.
Valencia and Alicante face brunt of flooding
The State Meteorological Agency (Aemet) issued red alerts for southern Valencia and northern Alicante, where towns including Els Poblets and Pego bore the brunt of severe flooding caused by the Girona river bursting its banks.
Enrique Moll, the mayor of Pego, reported that conditions were so severe that military emergency units and provincial forest fire crews were initially unable to access the town. Pego registered an alarming peak of 400mm of rain within four hours, with cumulative totals reaching 800mm over 24 hours.
Ten kilometres to the north, the coastal town of Oliva suffered extreme flooding, with water levels reaching over 1.5 metres in residential streets. In response, the Generalitat Valenciana issued a strict lockdown order covering 145 municipalities - restricting mobility for approximately 850,000 people - from 10am until 9pm.
Mass rescue operations and regional disruption
Emergency services mounted a large-scale air and water operation in Oliva, where over 200 residents were stranded on rooftops. Eleven helicopters evacuated dozens of people by air, while rescue teams deployed inflatable dinghies, kayaks, wooden boats and paddleboards to reach vulnerable residents.
The Guardia Civil established a forward command post (PMA) in Oliva, confirming that officers rescued up to 2,000 residents across the coastal strip of southern Valencia with support from the Military Emergency Unit (UME). Temporary shelters managed by the Red Cross provided emergency accommodation for hundreds of displaced locals, including 150 at Oliva's multi-purpose centre and campsite evacuees at Eurocamping Oliva.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez urged the public to exercise extreme caution as transport networks faced major disruption. Around ten roads were closed across La Safor, La Marina Alta and La Marina Baixa, while Valencia's C2 commuter rail line experienced temporary closures before service resumed on Monday afternoon.
In the Balearic Islands, storm conditions led to dozens of incidents in Ibiza, alongside 12 flight cancellations and 13 diversions across regional airports.