SEVILLA has recorded the heaviest rainfall in its history, as furious residents accuse authorities of failing to learn from last year’s catastrophic Valencia DANA that killed more than 200 people.
Between midnight and 3pm on Wednesday, the city was deluged by 115mm of rain – at its peak, the storm dumped 25mm in a single hour, flooding streets, homes and underground car parks, and paralysing traffic across the Andalucian capital.
Aemet confirmed that the total rainfall surpassed every record at Sevilla Airport’s weather station, which has been keeping data since 1951.
The previous high of 109.3mm, set in November 1997, was smashed in barely 13 hours.
The downpour triggered more than 600 emergency incidents across the city.
Roads including Ronda del Tamarguillo, Kansas City Avenue and the SE-20 ring road were completely submerged, while rescue crews waded through waist-deep water to pull drivers and pedestrians to safety.
On Calle Reyes Católicos, one passer-by was filmed carrying an elderly man on his back through the flood, a clip that has since gone viral as a symbol of everyday heroism amid chaos.
At the Virgen Macarena Hospital, corridors and treatment rooms were flooded, forcing staff to move patients as water poured from ceilings.
In Dos Hermanas, firefighters were seen ferrying schoolchildren to safety through a torrent that tore through the street outside their classrooms.
Despite hours of torrential rain, the city remained on orange alert, prompting an outpouring of anger online.
Local councillor Susana Hornillo accused the authorities of gross negligence, saying: “Sevilla has collapsed under the rain – streets flooded, schools and workplaces cut off… even the Virgen Macarena Hospital is underwater.
“All because of poor planning and maintenance. The PP government has learned nothing.”
The PSOE group at Sevilla City Hall also slammed the response: “The city isn’t working. The PP government improvised in the face of rain that had been forecast.”
One local resident said: “This is the same day the DANA killed 229 people last year — and they still didn’t suspend classes or tell us to stay home.”
Another called the situation ‘irresponsible and shameful,’ accusing authorities of ignoring warnings until the damage was done.
City police logged 228 incidents by mid-afternoon, including dozens of rescues, traffic accidents and flooded homes.
Parks and cemeteries were closed, and the Territorial Emergency Plan was activated in its pre-alert phase.
Officials said Sevilla received 20% of its average annual rainfall in just one hour, calling it an ‘extraordinary event.’
Yet for many residents, Wednesday’s flood felt less like an act of nature and more like a failure of planning — one that echoed the deadly mistakes of Valencia, exactly one year to the day.
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