A major Spanish city and its surrounding areas were brought to a near standstill by floods on Tuesday evening. Videos show streets underwater and residents pushing cars through the flood zone in Valladolid, in the northwestern region of Castile and León, after a deluge of rain hit on June 3.
Other pictures emerging from the scene show residents struggling to walk through the streets, with the water levels reaching their ankles. Garages, tunnels and parking lots were also flooded, with some cars remaining trapped inside, according to Castilla y León Emergency Services. Moreover, a person was reported unable to leave their vehicle on Mieses Street due to a large pool of water created by the downpour, according to local media.
As streets quickly flooded around the city, emergency services received more than 200 calls just between 7pm and 9pm local time (6pm and 8pm BST), according to local media.
The deluge lasted for around 45 minutes and saw some 16 square litres of rain per square metre falling.
Police officers helped manage the traffic while firefighters cleared areas where vehicles were struggling to move or remained trapped.
The floods prompted local authorities to declare level 2 of the civil protection’s Inuncyl Plan in the province, which marks regional concern and requires the activation of the Integrated Operational Coordination Center to manage the emergency.
Oscar Puente, the Spanish Minister of Transport, shared a clip on social media showing water flooding down a bridge with cars stuck on it. He commented: “I’ve never seen this in Valladolid in my life.”
Despite the emergency alert in place, no casualties were reported following the deluge.
