Flooding in Malaga: British expats given emergency warning | World | News

An alarm so loud it was “extremely painful to the ears” was sent to thousands of people on the Costa del Sol and other parts of the southern Spanish province on Tuesday night.

British expats living in the area reported being “horrified” when their phones suddenly started making a loud ringing sound.

This comes after state meteorological agency AEMET issued a red alert for “excessive rainfall” in the region, which is scheduled to start at 10am on Wednesday, November 13, and last until at least 11.59pm.

“I just got an alert on my phone, it scared us!” a British immigrant told Olive Press.

“It flashed like an alarm and made a terrible beeping sound that hurt the ears.

Another said: “I almost spilled my tea all over myself, it sounded like an apocalypse movie, but it’s fair to say we’re all aware now.”

Most alerts were sent between 22.35 and 22.40, but many received them as late as 22.55.

The alerts are part of Proteccion Civil Force’s new Es-Alert system, which has never been used before in Malaga.

The message was in both Spanish and English, given the large number of British and foreigners in the population.

It read: “Civil alert… Red alert in effect (Aemet), risk of heavy rainfall… Be very careful, avoid travel and follow advice from 112.”

Links are also provided for those who want to learn more.

Spain’s state weather agency Aemet warned that a “surface cyclogenesis” or hurricane will reach the Mediterranean on Wednesday, bringing with it heavy rains.

Aemet states that heavy rains of up to 100 mm/m2 in a 12-hour period will significantly risk life.

The new DANA is also expected to bring heavy rain to Valencia and Malaga, which were hit by the last deadly DANA storm that killed more than 200 people.

On Tuesday, Castellon in Valencia, Tarragona in Catalonia and Barcelona were placed on a yellow-level rain warning with rainfall of up to 20 mm per square meter per hour.

Meanwhile, the whole of Ibiza and parts of Majorca, including Palma, have been placed on a more severe orange alert, with rainfall of up to 40mm/m2 in one hour.