Woman, 102, dies as flash floods hit Madrigueras in southeast Spain
A 102-year-old woman died at home as flash floods swept through Madrigueras in Spain's Albacete province, with about 90 people rescued, regional media reported.
Incidents in this story
- Madrigueras · Friday evening: Flash flood kills woman, 102, in Madrigueras (1 killed)
- Region of Murcia, Spain · Friday: Storm triggers 222 incidents across Murcia region
A 102-year-old woman died inside her home after flash floods struck the town of Madrigueras, in Spain's Albacete province, on Friday evening, regional outlet elDiario.es Castilla-La Mancha reported. A storm dumped up to 142 litres of rain per square metre in two and a half hours, triggering floods across the town of just over 4,600 people.
Emergency services carried out about 90 rescues, mostly of people trapped in flooded homes, elDiario.es reported. Civil Protection teams worked to move residents to safety, while the Guardia Civil was deployed to secure the area and assist those affected.
Regional authorities had raised their weather alert from yellow to orange on Friday afternoon, warning of up to 30 litres per square metre in a single hour, according to Spain's AEMET weather agency. Three roads leading into Madrigueras, the CM-316, the CM-3222a and the AB-105, were closed to traffic; two reopened overnight, while the CM-3222a remained shut, newspaper ABC reported.
The same storm system also flooded streets in Manzanares, in Ciudad Real province, where rainfall reached the equivalent of 107 litres per square metre an hour at its peak, the town hall said. No one was hurt there, though vehicles, basements, garages and a festival sign were damaged, mayor Julián Nieva said, adding that the drainage network had been overwhelmed by the volume of water falling in just 40 minutes.
In the Murcia region, emergency services logged 301 calls over 222 incidents linked to the storm, concentrated in Los Alcázares, the city of Murcia, San Javier and Cartagena, ABC reported. Firefighters and civil protection teams helped drivers and passengers out of stranded vehicles, and the government's representative in the region, Francisco Lucas, urged residents to avoid travel and stay away from ravines and flood-prone areas.
Clean-up operations in Madrigueras began at midnight, with the regional government's delegate in Albacete, Pedro Antonio Ruiz Santos, and the provincial council president, Santi Cabañero, coordinating the response alongside firefighters, the Red Cross and the Guardia Civil, which said its officers would stay deployed overnight, regional outlet La Voz de Galicia reported.
What we know
- A 102-year-old woman died at her home in Madrigueras, Albacete province, after flash floods on Friday evening.
- Emergency services carried out about 90 rescues in the town, mostly from flooded homes.
- The storm dropped 142 litres of rain per square metre in two and a half hours, regional authorities said.
- Three roads into Madrigueras were closed; two reopened overnight, one remained shut, ABC reported.
- The same storm flooded streets in Manzanares and triggered hundreds of emergency calls in the Murcia region.
Why it matters for Europe
The storm that hit Madrigueras also brought flooding to Catalonia, the Valencia region, Castilla-La Mancha and Murcia, where emergency services logged 301 calls over 222 separate incidents. The scale of the response, involving firefighters, civil protection teams, the Guardia Civil and the Red Cross across several provinces, shows how a single weather system can strain emergency services over a wide area within a few hours.
Updates
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Updated with new reports from our sources.
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Updated with new reports from our sources.
First published.
Sources
Reported by 5 reports from 5 independent outlets in 2 countries.
- ElDiario.es: Inundaciones en Madrigueras tras una tromba de agua en esta parte de Albacete
- ABC: Calles inundadas y coches arrastrados: los estragos del temporal en Albacete y Murcia
- La Voz de Galicia: Una mujer de 102 años fallecida y 90 personas rescatadas en la riada de Madrigueras, Albacete
- La Vanguardia: Una riada en Albacete se cobra la vida de una mujer de 102 años
- El Mundo: Muere una mujer de 102 años y rescatan a 90 en la riada de Madrigueras (Albacete)
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Questions and answers
- How did the woman in Madrigueras die?
- She died at home, aged 102, after flood water rose more than a metre inside the house, regional media reported.
- How many people were rescued?
- Emergency services carried out about 90 rescues, mostly from flooded homes, authorities said.
- Were other areas of Spain affected?
- Yes, the same storm flooded streets in Manzanares and caused hundreds of emergency calls in the Murcia region.
This article was written with AI assistance from 5 verified reports and checked under the ECTV editorial policy. Spotted an error? Request a correction.