A RED alert has been issued across coastal Spanish holiday hotspots – with “extraordinary danger” of floods and 10 inches of rain expected.
Costa Blanca is bracing for Storm Alice, which is forecast to leave heavy rain and flash floods in its path of destruction, authorities say.
Spain‘s weather agency AEMET issued the high alert for Alicante in the eastern region of Valencia on Thursday.
Jawdropping footage showed muddy torrents of water sweeping through streets regularly packed with tourists.
Cars were pulled off the ground and stuck in huge puddles following the heavy deluge.
It comes one year after the same area was struck by deadly floods in late 2024 which killed 220 people.
Warning of the latest raging storm, authorities said on X: “Extraordinary danger. Flooding and flash floods may occur.
“Follow the advice of civil protection.”
They added that rainfall totals could go beyond 140 millimetres in just 12 hours in some areas.
And they warned that Valencia could be hit the worst out of all regions – with rain expected to exceed 250 millimetres by Sunday.
Other Mediterranean coastal areas such as Murcia and the Balearic Islands are also expected to be hit.
AEMET said it expected to see “very heavy and persistent rainfall” until Monday.
The agency said: “Showers may result in local flash flooding in low-lying areas, streams and gullies, so the potential danger level of this situation is high.”
Balearic authorities said it reinforced emergency services in holiday hotspot Ibiza on Thursday after it was placed on orange alert for rain and storms.
Foremntera is also expected to be hit by heavy rain which could cause flooding – with authorities on standby to deploy emergency workers if needed.
It comes after intense rainfall beat down eastern Spain on Wednesday.
The biblical showers are expected to last throughout the week.
Tourists in the region have also been urged to take caution and check local weather updates as much as possible.
Storm Alice is a DANA – which stands for “Depresión Aislada en Niveles Altos,” or “isolated depression at high altitudes”.
The “cold drop” phenomenon occurs when more warm and moist Mediterranean air than usual is sucked high into the atmosphere after a cold system hits the country.
The temperature difference between the cold air aloft and the warm surface air creates instability, leading to rapid uplift of warm, moist air and the formation of intense thunderstorms.
It comes after deadly Spanish floods killed 220 people.
Deadly storms which began on October 29 last year wreaked havoc across holiday hotspots on the Iberian peninsula.
The handling of the disaster by authorities sparked mass protests which saw riot police battle swarms of furious locals.
