How torrential rain in eastern Spain is impacting travel and daily life
Storms lashed Spain’s Mediterranean region late on Wednesday (September 16th), causing flight cancellations, disruptions to train travel and leading to school closures on Thursday as several regions remain on alert for heavy rain.
Spain was soaked by torrential rain late Wednesday, killing a man in Catalonia and cancelling trains, flights and football matches along the eastern coast.
In Valencia, weather monitors recorded more than 70 millimetres (2.76 inches) of rain in half an hour in many municipalities.
As of Thursday morning, five regions in the east of the country are still on orange alert for rain: the Balearic Islands, Castile-La Mancha, Murcia, Andalusia and Valencia.
Flooding hits Valencia, Spain, with torrential rain triggering rescues and major travel disruptions. It comes just two years after the October 2024 tragedy, when catastrophic floods killed more than 220 people in Valencia province. pic.twitter.com/gxRhaPe5Yo
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) September 17, 2026
Travel and school and university classes continue to be disrupted, with schedules slowly returning to normal in parts of the country.
READ ALSO: Why there are fears of more serious floods in Spain this autumn
Valencia
In Valencia, the downpour cancelled a La Liga football match between local club Levante and Athletic Bilbao, and Valencia firefighters responded to over 250 rain-related call-outs. Tree branches caused damage to vehicles in parts of the city.
However, trains on the C-2 line between Valencia and Xàtiva have been running normally in Thursday morning, whilst the C-6 Valencia–Castelló line began the day “as normal” at 07:15, once the infrastructure was inspected, according to Renfe.
Locals in Valencia city have shared video of traffic jams on Thursday morning as a result of some traffic lights not working.
Hora punta a València, els semàfors continuen sense funcionar i cap policia gestionant l’embús.
L’avinguda del Cid és un autèntic caos circulatori de cotxes i persones intentant creuar.
Al·lucinant, @AjuntamentVLC @policialocalvlc pic.twitter.com/14yaAmRYf3
— Jose Tomás (@josertomasro) September 17, 2026
As for the C-3 line between Valencia and Buñol, it is reportedly still awaiting an inspection, whilst on the C-1 line between Valencia and Gandia, services remain suspended due to the orange alert at various points along the route between Sollana and Gandia stations, Renfe states.
The runway at Valencia-Manises Airport is operational once again after rain forced 12 flights to be diverted on Wednesday.
📣 La pista del #Aeropuerto de #Valencia vuelve a estar operativa.
ℹ️ Se han producido 12 desvíos.
👉Te recomendamos que consultes con tu compañía aérea el estado de tu vuelo. https://t.co/4lQvbW6lXD
— Aena (@aena) September 16, 2026
The University of Valencia has announced that teaching will take place online wherever possible on Thursday due to the flooding and disruption affecting various transport routes in the city.
Meanwhile, Miguel Hernández University in Elche (Alicante) has suspended classes and activities this Thursday across its four campuses from 8.00 a.m to 2.00 p.m due to the alert.
Barcelona and Catalonia
Heavy storms also lashed Catalonia last night, particularly in the Barcelona region, and recorded rainfall of up to 57.4 litres per square metre in half an hour in the town of Sant Pere de Ribes (Barcelona).
Initial reports indicate 23 cancelled flights at Barcelona El Prat airport, according to information released Thursday morning.
Flight schedules also show delays on various domestic and international routes.
Despite the incidents, Barcelona’s airport continues to operate on Thursday, although airlines are making adjustments to their schedules and further cancellations or delays may occur throughout the day.
Spanish airport operator Aena recommends that passengers check the specific status of their flight before going to the airport.
The fire service responded to 270 calls relating to incidents caused by the rain and the downpour has also disrupted travel in the Catalan capital.
⛈️ Nit complicada per les fortes pluges a l’àrea de Barcelona
🚨 L’aeroport del Prat ha cancel·lat 23 vols, els Bombers han atès més de 120 avisos, i el 112 ha rebut 600 trucades
➕ Info: https://t.co/musl4Hs5ho pic.twitter.com/1rSfiGZeh0
— RTVE Notícies (@rtvenoticies) September 17, 2026
As of Thursday morning at 09:00 a.m, the L4 is operating between La Pau and Verdaguer (with a replacement bus service between Verdaguer and Trinitat Nova), whilst the L11 is running between Trinitat Nova and Ciutat Meridiana, according to a statement by Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB).
There are also disruptions at the Marqués de Sant Mori entrance at La Salut on the L10N line and on the central platform at Fabra i Puig on the L1 line, which is currently out of service.
The rain has also caused delays on two Rodalíes lines this Thursday morning.
The R4 line is running with delays averaging 30 minutes due to speed restrictions imposed by the weather conditions, while R2Nord line is running with delays averaging 20 minutes due to an operational issue.
Murcia
Conditions in the southern region of Murcia were less severe.
According to local Murcia media reports: “The first few hours of the episode of rain and storms that is keeping the entire Region of Murcia under watch this Thursday have passed without any significant incidents.”
“From the time the warning came into effect, at 03.00 on the morning of 17 September, until 08.00 this morning, the Murcia Region’s 112 Emergency Coordination Centre had handled just three incidents related to the storm, none of which were serious,” it added.
Since Wednesday, however, the Civil Protection Plan for Flood Risk in the region has been on pre-emergency alert, and Aemet has issued a red alert for parts of Murcia for heavy rain on Thursday.
17/09 10:12 AVISOS HOY | Región de Murcia: lluvias y tormentas. Nivel máximo de aviso: rojo.
Actualizaciones en https://t.co/gQDupQ393c pic.twitter.com/LQ5HLS2AKw
— AEMET_Murcia (@AEMET_Murcia) September 17, 2026
In coordination with the relevant regional ministries, it has agreed to suspend lessons at all schools in Lorca, Puerto Lumbreras, Águilas, Aledo, Totana, Alhama de Murcia, Fuente Álamo, Mazarrón, Cartagena, La Unión, Los Alcázares, Torre Pacheco, San Javier and San Pedro del Pinatar.
In the municipality of Murcia capital, this also affects schools in the following districts: Corvera, Sucina, Gea and Truyols, Valladolises, Avileses, Lobosillo, Los Martínez del Puerto.
Almería
The authorities in Almería, Andalusia, have suspended classes in Pulpí, Huércal-Overa and Cuevas due to heavy rain.
Atención a la evolución de la estructura tormentosa que comienza a afectar a zonas de Almería. Avisos actualizados en https://t.co/NBYyxbV8Tq https://t.co/HarbZBhtY7 pic.twitter.com/xeblZcAE1i
— AEMET_Andalucía (@AEMET_Andalucia) September 17, 2026
The regional government has declared a state of emergency due to the risk of flooding following an orange warning from Aemet, which has forecasted up to 50 litres per m/2 in an hour.