Red alert across the Valencian coast

Torrential rain from the dana Adam, an isolated upper-level depression, hit the south of Valencia province and the north of Alicante from Sunday, 18 October, overflowing rivers and flooding homes. The Generalitat Valenciana declared an emergency situation in the Safor and Marina Alta areas and sent a red Es-Alert, its highest flood-risk warning, telling people to keep away from rivers and streams, stay in their homes and move to upper floors. It also ordered mandatory confinement for residents of 145 municipalities on the coast south of Valencia and north of Alicante. On Sunday, roads were cut around Pego, Dénia and El Verger, and by the end of the afternoon several streets in the Marina Alta were under water.

Deaths and evacuations

Emergency coordination services reported three deaths so far, all of them women. The Unidad Militar de Emergencias (UME) confirmed that one body had been recovered in Oliva, a coastal town in Valencia province, citing Ministry of Defence sources who spoke to Cadena Ser radio. A second woman's body was found early in the morning on a beach in Sagunto, where the rain had dragged her. The third victim was swept away by a torrent in Cabrera del Mar (Barcelona) while trying to cross the area with relatives, after flooding in Catalonia since Saturday. Her body was recovered on Sunday near the breakwater at Premià del Mar.

Oliva (Valencia)1

Sagunto (Valencia)1

Premià del Mar (Barcelona)1

Oliva (Valencia)

1 deaths

Sagunto (Valencia)

1 deaths

Premià del Mar (Barcelona)

1 deaths

Data from the article text

In Oliva, mayor Yolanda Pastor said 2,000 people had been evacuated from seven campsites. A flooded camping ground in Xàbia also led to about a hundred people being moved to a shelter set up by the town council and the Red Cross.

How the emergency unfolded

The Consorcio Provincial de Bomberos de Valencia activated its special reinforcement device on Saturday afternoon, 17 October, and said it would stay active through the rest of Monday. Rain fell heavily through Sunday, and Guardia Civil officers kept working through the night, checking whether anyone remained inside vehicles being carried off by floodwater. The Guardia Civil has also deployed its GEAS underwater activities group from Alicante.

Rescues in Oliva and Gandia

Guardia Civil officers, working with the GREIM mountain rescue unit, located a completely flooded house in Oliva and evacuated a woman and her two children from its roof by air. A Salvamento Marítimo helicopter, Helimer 202, rescued eight adults, a child, a baby and a dog in Oliva after a request from the Generalitat's emergency services, and it kept flying over the area on Monday in case another operation was needed. In Gandia, the Policía Nacional rescued a 93-year-old woman trapped in her home, where the water was above 1.5 metres high, using a paddle surfboard. The provincial fire consortium said a large share of rescues are being made by air because access is difficult.

Courts, farmland and the national response

The courts in Dénia (Alicante) and Gandia (Valencia) suspended ordinary activity on Monday, and the Gandia courthouse was closed. The Valencian High Court's governing body (TSJCV) met in urgent session, passed the decisions to the General Council of the Judiciary and informed the regional justice department and the bar associations. Farmers' association AVA-Asaja gave a first estimate that rainfall above 600 litres per square metre could affect about 8,000 hectares of crops and farm infrastructure, mainly in Safor and the Marina. Citrus is hardest hit, especially Navelina oranges that have just started to be harvested, and the group asked authorities for fungicide treatments, direct aid and tax measures, nearly two years after the catastrophe of 29 October 2024.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez contacted Balearic regional president Marga Prohens to ask about the effects of the dana Adam, which she reported on X.

“The President of the Government of Spain has contacted me to find out about and learn the situation regarding the effects of dana Adam in the Balearics.”

Prohens also thanked the UME units that deployed overnight on 18 October to Mallorca and Eivissa, and their constant contact with the state weather agency Aemet. The Balearic authorities are continuing with maximum caution amid the rain and instability.