A second day of torrential rains, flooding towns and washing away vehicles in southeastern Spain, claimed another victim this morning, bringing the weather-related death toll to three.
Authorities at the town hall of the city of Almeria, on the Mediterranean coast, said a person was trapped in a car when it drove into a flooded tunnel this morning.
According to Reuters, heavy rainfall in the regions of Valencia and Murcia swept away cars and debris and forced the evacuation of hundreds of people, including from flooded highways.
"All the region of Murcia is flooded. We have never seen this situation before," Fernando López Miras, the Spanish government representative for Murcia, told TVE.
In the town of Orihuela, about 200 kilometers (124 miles) south of Valencia city, the river Segura overflowed its banks while the weather service for Valencia said: "The storms have picked up and we are still in a very difficult situation due to the overflowing of the river."
The increased water levels of the Segura River also forced authorities to shut all the bridges crossing it in the city of Murcia for precaution.
According to AP, mud-colored water rushed through streets, carrying away parked cars and inundating the bottom floors of houses in many towns.
The Spanish weather service AEMET maintained its alert for the region, saying it is "at extreme risk" from torrential downpours.
According to AP, the airports of Almeria and Murcia, trains and several roads were closed, and authorities canceled school classes and asked residents to avoid driving.
Security and precaution measures were adopted as around 1,000 soldiers were being deployed to the area.
The mayor of the town of Los Alcázares, Íñigo Alfonso, made a call for boats that could help search for residents in need of rescue.
144 people were rescued from cars and flooded homes in the region of Murcia, south of Valencia.
Some stranded people had to be rescued by police helicopters from the roofs of buildings surrounded by water.
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