This Monday, Catalonia experienced the last scourges of DANA, which for almost a week has affected the State, especially the Valencian Country. The south of the Catalan territory has been the most affected area, although this morning the impact has also been noticed, especially in the metropolitan area of Barcelona, activating the Civil Protection alarms. Alerts have been sent to the mobile phones of the citizens of Barcelonès, Garraf, Maresme, Vallès Oriental, Vallès Occidental and Baix Llobregat, warning of torrential rains.
But perhaps due to learning from the Valencian case and better prevention, the storm has not caused personal or serious damage, beyond incidents and serious mobility problems. The morning has been marked by the worrying rise of the Llobregat river, as well as flooding at El Prat airport and cuts on roads such as the C-32 between Castelldefels and Sitges (Barcelona), as well as in the Tarragona area. The Rodalies service has also been completely suspended, except for RL3 between Lleida and Cervera.
The president of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, stated in the afternoon that “the devices have worked well” and stressed that each alert situation “reminds us of the importance of being prepared.” “The most intense episodes have ended,” he celebrated, explaining what has been changed to a pre-alert situation. He detailed it in the press conference after the DANA monitoring committee, where he took stock and detailed that there were no longer any main roads cut off.
The Chief Executive thanked the public servants and workers for their work and that the majority of citizens have followed the recommendations: “We have avoided further damage.” Illa thanked the collaboration with the Government of Spain: “That is the way.” In addition, he announced that he will propose four agreements to the Consell Executiu: guarantee that all municipalities have updated civil protection plans; update of the civil protection model of Catalonia; review of all activities in flood zones; and an aid package for those affected by the DANA.
For their part, during this day the users of the railway service seemed resigned and upset, many pointing out the lack of explanations. After 5:00 p.m., traffic gradually recovered, and by mid-afternoon lines R1, R2 Sud, R3 and R4 were already operational. In addition, the circulation of high-speed trains from Sants station to Madrid was also stopped due to the accumulation of water in the El Prat tunnel, although it began to recover during the early afternoon.
El Prat airport also suffered the impact of the storm, with 70 flights canceled and 18 diverted, as reported by Aena early in the afternoon. The rain also affected other areas of the infrastructure: in some areas of the terminals there were water leaks, mainly in T1, as well as in the parking lot and some accesses, in addition to the runways. It was also not possible to access Rodalies or Metro. To facilitate vehicle mobility, barriers were opened in parking areas that needed alternative exits.
On the road, as of 2:00 p.m., the mobility restrictions applied by the Generalitat in nine regions of Tarragona, announced on Sunday, ended. Around the same time, the C-32 was reopened to traffic between Castelldefels and Sant Boi de Llobregat after having been closed for hours due to flooding. Pineda Avenue and the bridge that passes under the train tracks were completely flooded with the early morning storms, leaving commented images with some cars floating. The Mossos rescued a man who had been trapped in his car in this flooded area in Castelldefels around 11:00 in the morning.
Concern about the flow of the Llobregat
This Monday, the flow of the Llobregat River was also of concern, especially at the height of Sant Vicenç dels Horts (Barcelona), where it exceeded 650 m³ per second at 1:30 p.m., after the rains in the Baix Llobregat during the morning. According to data from the Catalan Water Agency (ACA), the river flow at this point went from 13 m³/s to 659 m³/s during the morning, exceeding the danger threshold. The situation normalized in the afternoon, with a flow of 74 m³/s. The ACA issued a hydrological risk warning in the Llobregat basin and called for “maximum caution” in the lower course. In the afternoon, the Government asked to avoid flood zones in Maresme, La Selva and the northeast of Catalonia.
Affects and material damage
Apart from the metropolitan regions, the city of Tarragona has been directly affected with records of up to 150 liters per square meter in one hour. According to the council, the rain fell especially intensely between two and five in the morning. There have been damages especially in the Móra urbanization, where two families have been evacuated due to flooding of their homes and there has been damage to the campsite. At least three bungalows have suffered considerable damage as a result of flooding due to the growth of the ravine.
There have also been several flooded areas in Viladecans (Barcelona) and its surroundings. At least fifteen warehouses in the industrial estate on Llobatona Street have been affected by the downpour. Some of them have been flooded, affecting parked cars. Many of these vehicles were locked in repair shops and have been completely damaged, as some of the employees have explained. The Baix Llobregat agricultural park has also been affected with several flooded points.
The accumulated rain until this morning has reached 131 mm in a point like Viladecans, its rainiest day since October 9, 2002 (139.9 mm, according to Meteocat). In stations such as the Port of Barcelona-ZAL Prat and El Prat de Llobregat, accumulated rainfall has reached 79.4 and 72.5 mm, respectively. Water has also accumulated significantly in other points: at the Blancafort station, in Conca de Barberà, it has registered 56.1 mm, while that of Tarragona marks 52.3.
Throughout the country, the Generalitat Firefighters received 934 notices for incidents and floods related to the rains until 6:00 p.m. Where the most warnings have been registered is in the southern metropolitan region (524) and in the Tarragona region (304). In the northern metropolitan region, 82 notices have been received. On the other hand, 112 recorded 2,790 calls for 2,460 files related to the alert from midnight to 6:00 p.m.
Education and health, affected pillars
Two social pillars such as education and health have also been affected by the torrential rains this Monday, and classes have been suspended at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, the University of Barcelona, the University of Girona, the University of Vic, the Polytechnic University of Catalonia, Pompeu Fabra University and Ramon Llull University. This afternoon, the Minister of the Interior, Núria Parlon, called for leaving children in schools and remaining at work while the episode lasted in the regions that were on alert.
As for hospitals, non-urgent activity has been descheduled in Bellvitge, Viladecans, Martorell, and in the Parc Taulí in Sabadell. In Granollers, only non-urgent surgical activity has been descheduled, in the CEX Esperit Sant the activity of the echocardio offices and the EMS Mataró has canceled the Oncohemato day hospital. Primary care centers in the Delta and Baix Llobregat Zone, Eastern and Western Zone, Maresme Zone and Badalona Serveis Asistencials have also been affected in different ways.
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