Flooding Spain: 14 areas on alert as storm Martinho brings more rainstorms

Avila, a Unesco World Heritage Site, is about 35 miles north west of Madrid. A medieval walled city, it is the capital of the Avila province.

The Adaja and Chico rivers have swollen and burst their banks - and officials fear that snow melting on the peaks of nearby mountains will only make the situation worse.

“We have maintained the state of emergency and alert in the city of Ávila,” stated Mayor Jesús Manuel Sánchez Cabrera on public television, referring to the mobilisation of authorities in response to the flood.

“There is a large amount of accumulated snow on the peaks, and we are waiting to see how the melting process proceeds and its impact on the rising waters.”

Spain is in the middle of a series of rainstorms, the most recent called Martinho, which is the fourth to hit the country in two weeks. Fourteen regions across the country were on alert on Saturday for rain, snow, wind, and rough seas. Storm Laurence hit the country earlier this week and saw three deaths.

The Spanish weather bureau, Aemet, said Martinho was bringing more water on Friday and throughout the weekend to areas which have already seen plenty of rain recently.

“Storm Martinho is dumping heavy rain where there has already been a lot of rainfall. It's also raining in areas with snow, causing it to melt. The soils are saturated, and many rivers are experiencing very high flows in the central and southern parts of the Peninsula. Be careful of flooding.”

Heavy rains since early March are expected to end the drought Spain has faced for three years.

In the municipality of Mejorada del Campo near Madrid 48 people were evacuated because of storm Martinho’s rains.

Spain continues to be hit by rainstorms, with the latest one, called Martinho, causing some cities to declare a state of emergency and evacuate their inhabitants. Dozens of roads have been closed, and rivers have been seen overflowing in large areas of central and northern Spain.

The extreme weather is being linked to climate change.