Photos: Flash Floods in Southern Spain Kill At least Seven [PHOTOS]
By Vasudevan Sridharan | Sep 29, 2012 03:27 PM EDT
Torrential rains followed by flash floods have claimed the lives of at least seven people in Southern Spain.
The bodies of two young children were found inside a car in Puerto Lumbreras, said the Spanish National Radio. Rivers in southern Spain are breaching their banks and water is gushing into houses overturning vehicles on the way.
An elderly woman was killed after flash floods entered her house.
Hundreds of people have fled the region while most of the roads have been closed to traffic. Local television channels showed images of wrecked cars and overflowing rivers.
Malaga, Almeria and Murcia provinces are the worst hit by the floods. Rescue workers are actively involved in searching for more victims, if any. Helicopters have been pressed into service to rescue people who have taken shelter on rooftops.
According to Spain's weather agency, around 245 litres of water per square metre has poured on a single morning.
"In Malaga province there are 800 staff working to return things to normal as quickly as possible. The rains are decreasing and seem to be shifting towards Granada and Almeria," a local government official, told AFP.
The rains are expected to lash the region throughout the weekend.
Spain is being pounded by heavy rains after a severe spell of drought and wildfires just months back.
Men push a car damaged by floodwaters in Villanueva del Trabuco, near Malaga southern Spain
Source: Reuters Date:09/29/2012
A horse lies dead in an orchard after heavy rain in the neighborhood of Santa Amalia in Alhaurin de la Torre, near Malaga southern Spain
Source: Reuters Date:09/29/2012
A woman cleans the entrance of her home of mud after heavy rain in the neighborhood of Santa Amalia in Alhaurin de la Torre, near Malaga southern Spain
Source: Reuters Date:09/29/2012
Two men speak to each other as they stand in front of a bridge destroyed by floodwaters in Alora, near Malaga southern Spain
Source: Reuters Date:09/29/2012
A man talks on his phone as he cleans his home of mud after heavy rain in Villanueva del Trabuco, near Malaga southern Spain
Source: Reuters Date:09/29/2012
A man wades through floodwaters in Bobadilla, near Malaga southern Spain
Source: Reuters Date:09/29/2012
People wade through floodwaters in Bobadilla, near Malaga southern Spain
Source: Reuters Date:09/29/2012
