Walter Finch
THE scale of the emergency evacuations in Malaga province are being expanded directly into the heart of the Costa del Sol.
At least 15 people so far have been moved from homes in Benalmadena after a wall to collapsed in the urbanisation Don Marcos, according to Emergencias 112 Andalucia.
It follows on from the 3,000 who were relocated from residences near the Guadalhorce river in Alora and Campanillas to sports centres in the city.
The whole Costa del Sol and Axarquia regions have been placed under an ‘extreme risk’ red alert due to severe rainfall between 10am and 11.59pm today.
Emergencias 112 Andalucia advises: “If your home is flooding, get out of basements and ground floors immediately. Disconnect all electrical appliances and use torches where possible.
“If you are forced to evacuate your home, grab your personal documentation (passports, identity cards) and a small first aid kit.”
It comes as flood waters begin to encroach upon Malaga airport and a number of flights have been affected.
Currently, Lufthansa flights from both Frankfurt and Munich are in holding patterns in the storm skies above the airport, as well as an Air France flight from Paris and a Swiss Air plane from Zurich.
Torre del Mar is proving itself to be a potential ground zero for Costa del Sol flooding after dozens of videos showed drains were already overflowing and filling roads with water by 11am.
Meanwhile, in nearby In Velez-Malaga, muddy floodwater was filmed gushing over railings and filling up streets.
