THE Costa Blanca is bracing for more torrential rain just days after catastrophic floods killed five people across southeastern Spain.
European meteorologists have forecast a 50% chance that a powerful new storm could bring heavy downpours to Valencia, Castellon and Alicante on November 3 and 4.
The weather event, known in Spanish as a DANA, is set to sweep across Spain’s eastern coast less than two weeks after Storm Adam wreaked havoc across the region.
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According to the European weather model ECMWF, the storm could dump up to 276mm of rain on Valencia’s La Safor area, which was already battered by Storm Adam last week.
That is more than half a year’s worth of rain in a single day, based on historical data from Spain’s weather agency AEMET.
Rainfall across the area is forecast to average around 100mm, with peaks of 150mm in Alicante city and 200mm in Castellon.
Meteorologists have warned there is still a chance the storm may not come to pass, as eight-day forecasts are uncertain and need to be monitored closely.
Last week, Storm Adam – another DANA – dumped the equivalent of a year’s rainfall on the town of Pego, Valencia, in less than 24 hours.
More than 2,100 people were evacuated or ordered to stay indoors as the chaos unfolded, while firefighters braved the raging storm to rescue 280 people from flooded areas in nearby Oliva.
Helicopters airlifted residents from submerged neighbourhoods, while emergency crews used rafts and inflatable boats to bring locals and their pets to safety from rapidly flooding areas.
Five people died in the floods: two in Oliva and three others in Valencia, Barcelona and Malaga.
The latest forecast raises fears of further devastating floods as the Costa Blanca grapples with growing climate uncertainty.
A recent study by the Spanish weather agency AEMET and the University of Valladolid found that climate change intensified rainfall during Valencia’s catastrophic 2024 floods by 21% over six hours, compared with pre-industrial conditions.
The disaster killed more than 220 people in the Valencia region and left more than 1,600 homes uninhabitable.
Torrents of floodwater swept through villages across Valencia province as rivers burst their banks and thousands fled for safety.
The floods became one of the deadliest natural disasters in Spain’s recent history.
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