Red alert triggers massive traffic jams and rail shutdowns as storm floods Barcelona region

For the second time in two days, Catalunya faced severe flooding as a stationary storm released more than 90 mm of rain within an hour, leading AEMET to issue a red alert for extreme risk along the Barcelona coast and adjacent inland areas. The sudden downpour hit commuters and schoolchildren in the midst of rush hour, sparking criticism that the ES-Alert warning arrived too late on mobile phones. Rivers swelled dramatically, with the Tenes river peaking at 136 cubic metres per second and the Besos exceeding 90 cubic metres per second, prompting civil protection to warn the public to stay away from riverbanks and low-lying terrain.

Rail services were heavily disrupted: the R2, R8 and R11 lines between Granollers and Sant Andreu were halted, and the R2 Nord was reduced to a short segment, while a tunnel under Plaza Catalunya remained closed. Major roadways, including the C-352 tunnel and sections of the C-1415a, BV-5159 and N-150, were blocked or restricted, leaving motorists stranded on the C-32 coastal motorway. Schools in several towns were suspended, and the emergency 112 switchboard logged thousands of calls within the first hours of the crisis.