Torrential rain has triggered severe flooding across parts of Spain’s southern provinces of Malaga and Granada, leaving multiple people missing and prompting hundreds of emergency calls as roads turned into rivers, homes were inundated and authorities urged residents and visitors to exercise extreme caution.

Civil protection agencies and local councils reported significant disruption to road access and public mobility across a wide swathe of municipalities, as search teams fanned out along swollen rivers and creeks to look for those unaccounted for.

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Red Alert Rains Batter Malaga and Granada

The intense storm system swept into Andalucía late on Saturday December 27, unleashing heavy downpours that persisted into the early hours of Sunday December 28.

Spain’s state meteorological agency AEMET issued its highest red alert for “extraordinary danger” across the Costa del Sol, the Guadalhorce Valley and surrounding inland areas, warning of up to 120 litres of rain per square metre in just 12 hours in parts of Malaga province.

Municipalities including Malaga city, Cártama, Alhaurín el Grande and Coín received mobile phone alerts instructing residents to stay indoors, avoid travel and keep away from riverbeds and low-lying terrain.

Across the provincial border in Granada, authorities activated emergency protocols for storms and flooding as intense bands of rain moved east, affecting rural roads, smaller towns and sections of the A-92 and other key routes.

Local emergency coordination centres reported incidents of flash flooding and rockfalls on secondary roads, as well as rising water levels in tributaries feeding into larger river systems shared between Malaga and Granada provinces.

Residents and tourists in coastal resorts and inland towns reported scenes of streets suddenly filling with muddy water, parked cars being displaced and drainage systems struggling to cope.

Video shared by local authorities and residents showed torrents racing through normally dry gullies and across road junctions, particularly in the Guadalhorce basin and inland stretches connecting Malaga and Granada.

Multiple People Reported Missing in Floodwaters

As the rain peaked overnight, emergency services confirmed that several people were unaccounted for in the Malaga area, with searches also focusing on river corridors that run toward Granada province.

In one of the most serious incidents, two men went missing near the Fahala River close to Alhaurín el Grande after their van was apparently swept away by rapidly rising floodwaters.

Volunteers and professional rescue teams later found the empty vehicle more than a kilometre downstream, intensifying fears about the occupants’ fate and illustrating the force of the current.

Police, Guardia Civil and fire brigades deployed river-rescue specialists and drones equipped with thermal cameras along the Fahala and Guadalhorce rivers, scouring densely vegetated banks and debris-strewn channels for any sign of the missing.

Civil Protection officials stressed that the search effort was being complicated by lingering currents, turbid water and unstable ground conditions after the river burst its banks at several points.

In Granada province, local authorities reported additional calls about missing or cut-off individuals in rural areas where small bridges and fords were overtopped.

Although not all cases were immediately confirmed as high-risk missing-person incidents, officials said every report was being followed up out of caution, as past floods in the region have shown how quickly situations can turn deadly when vehicles or pedestrians attempt to cross even shallow-looking torrents.

Emergency Services Stretched by Hundreds of Incidents

The 112 Andalucía emergency coordination service logged more than 300 storm-related incidents in Malaga province alone from Saturday afternoon through Sunday morning, with calls continuing as residents assessed damage and reported new problems.

Most of the alerts related to urban and rural flooding, blocked roads, trapped vehicles and water entering homes, shops, basements and garages, particularly in the Guadalhorce Valley municipalities of Cártama, Coín and Alhaurín el Grande.

Firefighters carried out multiple rescues overnight, including families trapped in ground-floor properties as water rose around them, drivers stranded in partially submerged cars and farm workers isolated on flooded plots of land.

In several cases, inflatable boats and high-clearance vehicles were deployed to reach people who had disregarded earlier warnings not to travel or had been caught by the speed of the flooding while already on the move.

Across both Malaga and Granada, local police forces and Civil Protection volunteers worked alongside regional fire services to pump out inundated premises, clear blocked drains and stabilize structures weakened by water and mud.

Authorities emphasized that, despite the intensity of the storm and the scale of the response, the priority remained preventing further casualties and accounting for everyone reported missing or cut off.

Road Closures and Travel Disruption Across the Region

The flooding had a significant impact on mobility throughout the affected area, as river overflows and flash floods left key routes impassable.

Sections of local and regional roads in the Guadalhorce Valley were temporarily closed due to standing water, collapsed embankments or thick layers of mud and debris deposited by receding currents.

The well-used road connection between Ronda and the Costa del Sol was also briefly blocked amid reports of hail accumulation and heavy runoff in mountain sections, adding to travel chaos for residents and visitors attempting to move along the interior-coast corridor.

In urban areas of Malaga province, including districts of Malaga city and several coastal towns, streets turned into fast-moving channels that overwhelmed drainage systems, forcing authorities to restrict access, divert traffic and encourage residents to keep their vehicles parked until conditions improved.

Bus lines serving some inland communities were suspended or rerouted, while taxi and ride-hailing services slowed operations due to safety concerns and blocked access points.

In Granada province, particularly in more mountainous and rural zones, local councils reported rockfalls and landslides triggered by saturated slopes, affecting both minor roads and segments of important interprovincial connections.

Road maintenance crews were dispatched with heavy machinery to clear fallen rocks and remove mud, but officials warned that further closures could not be ruled out as long as soils remained waterlogged and additional showers lingered over the region.

Authorities Urge Extreme Caution Around Rivers and Flood Zones

Civil Protection units in both Malaga and Granada repeatedly urged people to treat the situation as life threatening in areas near rivers, streams and flood-prone underpasses.

The ES-Alert mobile warning system sent loud, text-based alerts to phones across 27 municipalities in Malaga province at the height of the red alert, advising residents to avoid unnecessary travel, stay away from riverbanks and low-lying paths and head for higher floors or ground if they were in a known risk zone.

Officials stressed that even as the heaviest rain eased on Sunday morning and the red alert was downgraded, the danger was far from over.

Rivers such as the Guadalhorce, which rose to historic levels overnight and spilled into surrounding farmland and residential developments, continued to carry large volumes of water.

Debris including branches, collapsed fences and dislodged infrastructure also posed additional hazards for anyone tempted to venture close to the waterline.

Local mayors and emergency coordinators appealed directly to residents through social media and local radio, emphasizing that many of the rescues carried out overnight could have been avoided if people had respected barriers and closure signs.

They called on communities to remain vigilant as search and clean-up operations continued, noting that apparent lulls in rainfall can give a false sense of security while upstream flows are still moving through the system.

Impact on Homes, Businesses and Holiday Tourism

The storm’s timing at the height of the winter holiday season added to concern among tourism operators in the Costa del Sol and inland cultural destinations shared between Malaga and Granada.

While coastal resorts are accustomed to occasional autumn and winter storms, the severity of the rainfall and the rare red alert designation left hotels, holiday rentals and tour companies fielding urgent calls from worried guests and those due to arrive in the coming days.

In several towns of the Guadalhorce Valley, residents awoke to find ground floors flooded, gardens waterlogged and vehicles damaged or coated in mud after torrents had passed through overnight.

Small businesses such as bars, shops and workshops located at street level or along sloping streets bore the brunt of the damage, with some reporting ruined stock and equipment.

Local chambers of commerce and town halls said they would begin collecting data on losses once the immediate emergency phase passed, while reminding business owners to document damage for insurance and potential aid applications.

Granada’s interior tourism, which relies heavily on rural guesthouses, hiking trails and cultural excursions in small villages, also faced disruption as access roads were closed and walking routes became unsafe.

Guides and accommodation owners reported cancellations and postponements, but many also emphasized that safety had to come first as rescue teams were still at work and weather conditions remained unstable in higher elevations.

Climate Patterns and Flood Risk in Southern Spain

The violent storm and resulting floods have reignited discussion among local authorities and experts about the changing nature of extreme weather events in southern Spain.

While Andalucía has long experienced seasonal downpours associated with cut-off low pressure systems, or “DANA” events, recent years have seen an apparent increase in short, intense episodes that drop very large quantities of rain over limited areas in a matter of hours.

These so-called “cloudbursts” can overwhelm river basins and urban drainage far more quickly than older infrastructure was designed to handle.

Hydrologists and civil engineers have previously highlighted the vulnerability of river-adjacent settlements and low-lying developments in valleys like the Guadalhorce, where urban expansion has in some cases crept closer to historical floodplains.

In both Malaga and Granada provinces, authorities have been working on mapping risk zones more precisely and updating emergency plans, yet the latest flooding demonstrates how difficult it remains to fully protect communities against rapid-onset events.

Local and regional officials signalled that once the immediate emergency subsides, they will once again review river management, early warning systems and land-use regulations in flood-prone corridors shared between the two provinces.

However, they also stressed that even the best infrastructure and planning cannot entirely remove the need for individual responsibility, especially when red alerts are issued and clear warnings are sent directly to mobile phones.

FAQ

Q1: Where have the worst floods been reported in this latest storm?
The most serious flooding has been reported in Malaga province, particularly in the Guadalhorce Valley municipalities such as Cártama, Coín and Alhaurín el Grande, with additional impacts on roads and smaller communities extending into parts of Granada province.

Q2: How many people are currently missing?
Police and emergency services have confirmed multiple missing-person cases linked to the storm, including at least two men whose van was swept away near the Fahala River close to Alhaurín el Grande, while other reports from Granada’s rural areas are still being verified.

Q3: What alerts have been issued by Spain’s weather and civil protection agencies?
AEMET issued a red alert for extreme rainfall for parts of Malaga province, including the Costa del Sol, Malaga city and the Guadalhorce Valley, while civil protection services activated phone-based ES-Alert messages urging extreme caution and advising residents to avoid travel and flood zones.

Q4: Is it safe to travel to Malaga and Granada right now?
Authorities are advising people already in affected areas to avoid nonessential travel until floodwaters recede and roads are fully inspected; travellers planning to arrive should check with airlines, rail operators, accommodation providers and local news before moving, as conditions and closures may change quickly.

Q5: Which types of roads have been most affected by the flooding?
Local and regional roads near rivers and in valley bottoms have been hardest hit, with temporary closures due to standing water, mud and debris, while some key interurban routes, including connections between Ronda, the Costa del Sol and inland Granada, have also seen disruptions and short-term shutdowns.

Q6: Are airports and rail services operating normally?
Airports and rail lines in the region have reported weather-related delays and some diversions, but core infrastructure remains operational; passengers are being urged to monitor real-time updates and allow extra time for transfers given road disruptions around major hubs.

Q7: What should residents and visitors do if they receive an emergency alert on their phone?
Recipients are instructed to read the message carefully, avoid unnecessary travel, stay away from riverbeds and underpasses, follow official road closures and, if located in a flood-risk zone, move to higher ground or an upper floor and be ready to call emergency services if necessary.

Q8: How are local communities responding to the missing-person searches?
Community volunteers, local Civil Protection units and family members have joined professional rescue teams in organised searches along rivers and surrounding countryside, coordinating closely with police and fire services while respecting safety instructions to avoid entering dangerous waters.

Q9: Will there be financial assistance for those whose homes and businesses were flooded?
Regional and local authorities are beginning to assess damage and have indicated that once the emergency phase ends, they will evaluate possible aid measures and facilitate access to insurance procedures, though residents are being urged to carefully document all losses.

Q10: How can future travellers stay informed about similar events in southern Spain?
Prospective visitors are advised to monitor official weather forecasts from AEMET, follow local news outlets for regional alerts, stay in close contact with their accommodation providers and register for any available local or national alert systems that provide real-time safety messages.