Spain's northeast town of Alcanar took toll Thursday of the damage to homes and businesses caused by flooding produced by intense rain that fell on large areas of the country.
Residents said that they were fortunate that no lives were lost when over 250 liters per square meter (45 gallons per square yard) were dumped on the town between midnight and 6 p.M. On Wednesday.
“We had to get upstairs to our apartment and then leave it all in God's hands,” said Rosa MarÃa Sancho, the 67-year-old owner of a restaurant on the Alcanar boardwalk.
The flash flooding quickly turned streets into swift rivers that swept away all in their path. Several cars were carried away and around a dozen ended up tossed into the surf of the Mediterranean Sea. Homes and businesses were filled with mud, water and debris. Sancho's daughter Carla Bayerri said that they watched helplessly as “part of the terrace went into the sea.”
Other parts of Spain's central and northern areas, including Madrid, also saw flooding on Wednesday.