TWO PEOPLE HAVE died and one person is missing after heavy rains lashed Spain, triggering flash floods that forced the closure of Madrid metro lines and high-speed rain links.

The weekend storm affected almost the whole country, with the heaviest rains recorded yesterday in the coastal provinces of Cadiz, Tarragona and Castello, according to state weather office Aemet.

Two people died in the province of Toledo as a result of the storm, the president of the regional government of Castilla La Mancha said, without giving details.

Spanish media said a man was found dead by police during a rescue attempt on a road near the town of Bargas while another man died as rescuers tried to reach him in the town of Casarrubios del Monte.

Emergency services were looking for a man who went missing after his car was swept away early today by a swollen river in the rural area of Aldea del Fresno west of Madrid, a spokesman from Madrid’s emergency services, Javier Chivite, told public television RTVE.

Firefighters found his 10-year-old son – who was also in the car and was initially reported as missing – today on top of a tree, he added.

Emergency services had earlier rescued the boy’s mother and sister.

“We are searching the river to try to find the car,” Chivite said.

Several metro lines were closed in Madrid this morning due to flooding caused by heavy overnight rains.

Yesterday, residents of the Madrid region received an emergency text accompanied by a loud alarm urging them not to use their vehicles and stay at home. It was the first time the authorities used this mobile phone alert system.

Several theatres were closed and yesterday’s football match between Atletico Madrid and Sevilla yesterday suspended.

High-speed rail links between Madrid and the southwestern region of Andalusia and the eastern coastal region of Valencia, which closed yesterday, reopened today although trains were running at slower speeds in some sections, railway operator Renfe said.

© AFP 2023