Just under a year since the devastating 29 October floods across eastern Spain, which led to more than 230 deaths and was one of the worst natural disasters in the country’s history, major flooding has again been affecting the region.
The coastal area stretching from the tourist hotspots of Alicante and Benidorm in the south-east to Barcelona in the north-east, as well as the Balearic islands, have seen rainfall totals of 100-200mm (3.9-7.8in). Thunderstorms have brought hourly rainfall rates of more than 60mm, resulting in flash flooding and leading to travel chaos, including flight cancellations and stranded holidaymakers, as well as damage to property.
Spain’s state meteorological agency, Aemet, declared the extreme wet weather as being the first high-impact Dana of the autumn season. The term Dana stands for depresión aislada en niveles altos (isolated depression at high levels).
A Dana is an upper-atmospheric depression, disconnected from the main airflow, potentially leading to torrential downpours, gusty winds, hail and thunderstorms. The severity of these complex systems is dependent on local conditions such as land – sea temperature differences and humidity, making a forecast of their intensity difficult.
It is the first Dana to be given an official name – Storm Alice – assigned from a list agreed in advance by the Southwest European Storm Naming Group, which comprises of Spain, Portugal, France, Belgium, Andorra and Luxembourg.
The naming of storms aims to make communication clearer when severe weather events are anticipated. Previously, there has been confusion among the public, as only some Danas lead to devastating weather. By only naming those expected to have a significant impact, it is hoped that the public will find it easier to comprehend whether it poses a real threat.
Storm Alice is slowly moving across the area and is expected to continue to bring heavy rainfall for a few more days, although the worst conditions will move eastwards towards the Italian islands of Sardinia and Sicily.
Another country experiencing heavy rain and flooding is Mexico, particularly in central and south-eastern parts. About 40 people have been killed and many more are missing, with reports of landslides, 1,000km (621 miles) of damaged roads and power cuts affecting 300,000 people. The flooding comes as Tropical Storm Raymond moves slowly north-westwards towards the country’s west coast – the third named storm to affect the area recently, following Octave and Priscilla. Raymond is now dying out as it heads towards the US border.
