The mayor of Madrid urged all citizens on Sunday to stay inside as the city prepared for the severe storms and torrential rain that are expected to hit portions of Spain.
A maximum red signal, which denotes potential extreme danger, was issued by the national weather office AEMET for Sunday in the Madrid region, Toledo province, and the city of Cadiz.
It warned that Madrid might experience 12-hour rainfall of up to 120 litres per square metre.
Madrid Mayor Jose Luis Martinez-Almeida posted on X, formerly Twitter, “I ask the people of Madrid to stay at home today due to the exceptional and abnormal situation, in which rainfall records will be broken.”
Early on Sunday afternoon, there were storm clouds forming over Madrid, but many people were out and about as usual.
“I think (the red alert) is a good idea,” said 42-year-old Manuel Loro of Madrid. “Not using your car today is the best course of action. We’re going to go early since it’s going to be fiercest at six o’clock.
Residents in Madrid received texts from the emergency services alerting them to the possibility of flooding and recommending they not drive.
Due to the alarm, LaLiga halted an evening match between Atletico Madrid and Sevilla at Madrid’s Wanda Metropolitano stadium.
Emergency services have also kept inhabitants inside their homes in Alcanar, Tarragona, on Spain’s east coast because of flooding following 215 litres per square metre of rain in the previous 24 hours.
