Torrential rains swamp Catalonia, halting transport and prompting emergency aid

Since Saturday, Catalonia has endured a series of intense rainstorms that have inundated coastal and inland areas, leaving roads and rail lines impassable. A heavy shower on Tuesday hit the Barcelona metropolitan zone, forcing the cancellation of 47 flights at El Prat and diverting inbound traffic to Palma de Mallorca, Madrid and Toulouse following a tower-control power loss. In the Baix Ebre region, rainfall reached roughly 100 litres per square metre in two hours, prompting more than twenty rescue operations by fire services in towns such as Xerta, Vandellós and Cambrils.

Despite an ES-Alert sent at 19:00, many residents still struggled to find transport, with taxis insufficient and the metro also affected. Authorities have reported missing individuals, including a person in the Pineda river and a 12-year-old boy in Granollers. Catalan government spokesperson Sílvia Paneque announced a 75-million-euro aid package to assist the hardest-hit communities.