Chloe Glover (Reporter)UNPRECEDENTED levels of rain have left parts of the Costa del Sol a ‘red alert’ disaster zone.
People have been forced to ‘cling’ to their roofs in Mijas and Cartama, according to residents, in what local police are calling the worst rains since 1989.
A red danger warning, the highest possible, has been issued by Spanish meteorological service Aemet for the region after a massive 200 litres of water per cubic metre fell in just 12 hours.
An amount equivalent to one month’s rain has fallen over the weekend.
Miedo pic.twitter.com/la7aqumvnF
— María Moreno (@mmorenovera) December 4, 2016
Electricity has been cut off in large parts of Manilva and Sabinillas as roads are turned into rivers.
The main A7 motorway and underpass has also been shut, with more rain forecast for this afternoon.
Roads have also been shut in Estepona and Marbella after rivers burst their banks and drains blocked up, with thousands of homes facing flooding.
Well over 200 emergency calls have been made over the weekend due to the weather, which has caused mudslides in Malaga and in the Sierras.
Today’s planned Malaga marathon has been cancelled due to big safety fears.
The rain storm has also wreaked havoc further afield in Andalucia, with floods reported in Cadiz.
Small point, but why do you insist on reporting rainfall as litres per cubic metre? The international standard for reporting rainfall is mm. This does not rely on secondary units of area or volume, and is literally what is says. The UK used to use inches, but the principal is exactly the same.
Cheers…
Because its a measurement of how much rain fell over a time frame, not a measurement of representative depth (such as in a rain gauge). IMHO it’s a better statistic to report as what we care about is how much rain has fallen not how deep it would be in a tank.
Good job I bought an inflatable bed during the summer. I’m currently floating on a steady flow of muddy water. 4G signal is fine and I am able to watch Netflix. Paddling to the nearest bar…
Unnecessary comment above in the Grand scheme of things ???????? hope everyone stays safe xx
Very well said Helen !
Absolutely agree with Gavin.
Litres per cubic metre doesn’t make any sense to me.
Litres per square metre or mm would be appropriate.
Who cares ? it rained enough and floods where everywhere ! end of story
One litre per cubic or square metre gives a depth of one millimetre. So 200 litres per cubic ( or square) metre gives a depth of 200 millimetres, or 20 centimetres, or about 8 inches. That is a lot of rainfall!
1 square metre = 100 x 100 cm. = 10000 square cm.
1 litre = 10 x 10 x 10 cm. = 1000 cu. Cm.
1 litre / sq. Metre = 1000 / 10000 = 0.1 cm./ sq. Cm. (= 1 mm)
Sorry if this is over simplified, but not everyone is familiar with this.
Either way, it’s still well over your ankles, and it will take its time running off.
My daughter and grandson live in Sabinillas and after someone has lost their life near there does it really matter
You always have one smart arse to correct people when there is more concerning matters with the floods, shame some people are not humble and considerate
Currently on Holiday in La Duquesa we had to evacuated out the Apartment Block we were in, The Hire Car was in the underground car park and is currently under 8 foot of flood water !! One of the most frightening thing I’ve ever witnessed !!!
I hope you were fully insured with the hire car….good luck.