Heavy showers as authorities warn of intense rain

Catalonia woke up on Monday to heavy showers across the country, but they were especially intense in the central coastal area.

Around 9am local time, intense showers fell on several towns, with 40mm of water falling in 30 minutes in Badalona, near Barcelona. Some 27mm fell on the city in just 10 minutes, and 4.6mm in only a minute.

In half an hour, Castellbisbal (27mm) and Vallirana (23.3mm), both northwest of the Catalan capital, registered some of the heaviest rainfall.

In some parts of Barcelona’s metropolitan area the rain was accompanied by a storm, with hail and strong winds.

The authorities issued a warning for intense rain for the whole Monday morning everywhere in the country but for the southern counties.

Along one of Badalona’s main avenues, formerly a stream, the water swept away rubbish bins and swept over vehicles that it found in its path.

Between 8am and 10am, Catalan firefighters received 22 calls related to the showers, mainly about flooding in the ground floors of buildings and excess water in the streets.

At 11am, the rain began heading to the Girona area, in the north-east of Catalonia, but the warning issued by Catalonia's meteorology service also said that part of the coast and the central part of the country would be affected.

The Catalan Civil Protection service recommends staying away from streams and not parking in areas which can be easily flooded