Italy and Spain hit by flash floods and heavy rain weeks after 40C heatwave and wildfires

Italy and Spain hit by flash floods and heavy rain weeks after 40C heatwave and wildfires Urgent weather warnings have been issued in Spain and Italy as heavy rain causes chaos after dramatic swing in conditions - Bookmark - CommentsGo to comments Heavy rain has triggered flash floods in Italy and Spain, just weeks after Europe experienced a scorching 40C heatwave and wildfires. Urgent weather warnings have been issued across the two countries, as Europe braces for further violent storms. Low pressure coming from the Atlantic has decreased temperatures in some areas of northern and central Spain by more than 10C. The clash of cool and hot air is creating unstable, extreme conditions with thunderstorms and torrential rain, as well as powerful wind gusts. Aemet, the state meteorological agency, issued yellow and orange weather alerts for 11 communities, including for much of the eastern half of the Iberian Peninsula for storms, only one day after a rare red alert was issued for Valencia and Alicante amid highs of 44C. The Valencian Association of Meteorology (Avamet) had described the sweltering temperatures as “akin to Dante’s Inferno”. A thunderstorm then battered the province on Thursday taking down trees and damaging buildings, with lightning bolts causing fires. Over 50 emergency interventions were reported by local media, and wind speeds were recorded over 62mph. It follows flash flooding and landslides last weekend which killed three people and injured two children in the village of Manzanedo de Valdueza and the southern Spanish Pyrenees. Majorcans were also on high alert on Thursday as a big storm hit the Balearic Islands. There were 75 incidents caused by the storm overnight and into Friday, according to the Majorca Daily Bulletin, of those 31 were in Mallorca, which is still on yellow alert for rain. Most of the incidents involved fallen trees. Storms are expected to continue on Saturday. In northern Italy, video footage shows roads turning into rivers and water levels surging. Meteorologists reported that a total of 126mm of rain fell on the northern town of Chiavari which sits around 25 miles east of Genoa in Liguria. An urgent yellow flood warning was issued on Thursday for the wider Liguria region. This was upgraded to Orange for the north-eastern parts of Liguria and the eastern slopes of the Po Valley. The risk of flooding in the region is set to run through Friday to around 3pm local time. In southern France, around 200 holidaymakers were evacuated from a campsite in Pégomas as a precaution and taken to local community facilities. A small landslide was also been reported near Castillon. Only a week ago, raging infernos were engulfing the continent, with blazes burning across France, Spain, Italy, Greece, Belgium, Croatia, and Germany. The heatwaves and subsequent wildfires caused deaths, the evacuation of 330,000 people from their homes, widespread destruction and clouds of toxic smoke. They have also broken numerous record in several different countries. New data reveals that the 2026 fire season is set to become the third-worst on record according to the European Forest Fire Information Service. More than 600,000 hectares have burned so far, with records broken for this time of year in Belgium, France and Slovakia. The area affected by wildfires across Europe could almost triple by the end of the century, according to analysis led by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK). The study estimates roughly 39% more land could be burnt every year across the continent by 2100, compared to the current average. It says climate change is increasing fire activity across Europe as hot, dry and windy conditions become more severe. Join our commenting forum Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies Comments