Laurence Dollimore
PARTS of Cataluña have been placed on a red weather alert for heavy rainfall.
The warning from state weather agency Aemet comes after similar alerts were activated for the Costa del Sol, Guadalhorce and Axarquia regions in Malaga.
In Cataluña, the region on red alert is the southern coastline of Tarragona, which borders the northern half of Castellon in Valencia.
The alert warns of ‘extreme risk’ from ‘severe’ rainfall between 10am and 11.59pm on Wednesday.
People have been told avoid all unnecessary journeys and to stay off the roads wherever possible.
Meanwhile, schools across Malaga province have been suspended on Wednesday as part of a package of preventative measures announced by the Junta de Andalucia.
Amomg these was the ‘preventative evacuation’ of people who live along banks of the Guadalhorce river.
This means hundreds of people will be ferried away from their homes in Alora, Cartama, Alhaurin de la Torre, Pizarra, Cerralba and Malaga.
Alora is still reeling from the last severe DANA at the end of October which saw dozens of cars carried away by rapids.
The decision was made following meetings between the emergency authorities, the Proteccion Civil force and Malaga government.
It comes as locals fear a ‘DANA panic’ is setting in after supermarkets were left with empty shelves across the province.
A Malaga-based journalist on X shared photos of a Mercadona that was left completely bare on Tuesday night, comparing the ‘psychosis’ to the height of the Covid pandemic four years ago.
She wrote: “Psychosis returns to Malaga for the #DANA . Going to the supermarket has been a trip to March 2020.”
A follower replied to the post: “I just went to my trusted Mercadona and it was the same. No eggs, no meat… No toilet paper, what memories of war!”
Another wrote: “As soon as I saw that there was no toilet paper in the Mercadona in my neighborhood, I knew that the unusual lack of products was due to the DANA.”
The panic comes as Valencia is still reeling from the previous DANA of October 29,. which left towns and villages destroyed and killed well over 200 people.
