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Catalan firefighters located the body of a man approximately 500 metres from where his car was swept away by a swollen stream in Olivella in the Garraf comarca late on September 16 according to multiple regional outlets including La Vanguardia and RTVE. The Mossos d’Esquadra police force confirmed the victim was the vehicle’s driver after a witness reported seeing the car become trapped in the riera before the current carried the occupant away. Emergency teams deployed 10 units including specialists in aquatic operations and drones to the scene following the alert shortly before 11pm. The discovery came after initial reports from Protecció Civil had described the search as involving a missing woman.
Meteocat the Catalan meteorological service recorded rainfall totals of 85.6 litres per square metre in three hours at Canyelles and 57.4 litres in 30 minutes at Sant Pere de Ribes during the overnight downpours. The intense precipitation prompted Protecció Civil to issue ES-Alert mobile phone warnings to residents in seven comarcas including Barcelonès Garraf and Vallès Occidental. Catalan emergency services fielded more than 850 calls linked to the storms resulting in over 500 separate incidents according to figures cited by The Local and Euronews.
Roads including the Ronda de Dalt at two exits the B-20 near Santa Coloma de Gramenet and sections of the C-58 and C-33 became impassable because of standing water and flowing torrents La Vanguardia reported. Firefighters assisted drivers trapped in vehicles on the flooded Ronda de Dalt where water reached knee height in some areas. Approximately 23 flights were cancelled at Barcelona-El Prat airport while regional train services faced suspensions and metro stations including those near Vall d’Hebron hospital experienced flooding that required intervention by Barcelona’s urban police and fire crews.
The storms extended south to the Valencia region where authorities activated a special flood contingency plan and suspended classes in 15 municipalities Euronews stated. Valencia airport temporarily closed amid the heavy rainfall that also generated more than 70 millimetres in 30 minutes according to local measurements reported by India Today. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez posted on X urging residents to exercise maximum caution and follow instructions from emergency services as the system moved across the Mediterranean coast.
This episode arrives after Spain experienced its hottest summer on record a condition that researchers link to intensified rainfall events when storms do occur according to coverage in The Olive Press and Ground News. A Climate Central analysis reported by La Vanguardia found that climate change added 30 extra days of extreme heat across Spain during June to August 2026 compared with a world without global warming. The 2024 floods in the Valencia area that claimed more than 230 lives remain a recent reference point for regional preparedness the reports noted.
Bombers de Catalunya shared updates on social media detailing the overnight operations in Olivella and across Barcelona where low-lying areas and underpasses turned into swift-moving channels. The combination of saturated ground from prior rains and the sudden intense bursts overwhelmed drainage systems in several municipalities. Officials continued monitoring the situation into September 17 as forecasts indicated the potential for additional localised flooding in eastern Spain.
