A huge storm in Madrid has caused serious flooding in several towns on the outskirts of the Spanish capital closing both the M-40 and the M-30 Autopistas as well as the Metro lines 9 and 5.
The most affected districts are Arganda del Rey, Valdemoro and Pinto, but heavy rains have also caused closures in many other roads across the city including the Alfonso XIII tunnel and the Dominican Republic tunnel.
The region has also seen a massive hailstorm causing additional road and subway closures and where firefighters have had to perform 200 interventions.
At 8:35 p.m., the DGT announced that the M-40 was closed, in the La Fortuna neighborhood in Leganés and there is also a section of the M-30, at the Avenida de la Ilustracion that is closed in both directions. The Metro has also suffered closures on line 5 and line 9.
The president of the Community of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, has reported on Twitter that firefighters have made more than 200 interventions due to the rains and storms, which have led the State Meteorological Agency to activate the orange warning classified as “major risk. ”
She said in a tweet “We ask for caution in the next few hours. Heavy rains will continue. We must always follow the directions and warnings provided by the emergency services,” stating also that she is in contact with the mayors of Arganda del Rey, Getafe and Madrid to whom she has offered the support of the Community.
In Arganda, between 17.30 and 18.00, more than 40 litres per square meter have fallen. Several people have shared videos on social networks where you can see how water drags containers and cars in the centre of the municipality, especially on Calle Juan de la Cierva and Calle Real.
At least fifty vehicles have been damaged. In addition, the water has destroyed several areas of vineyards that have become unusable as a result of hailstorm.
Many residents are clearing the hail that has entered their homes and their garages with shovels. “The storm started at about six and lasted for no more than ten minutes but it has been a disaster,” said a bakery owner. “I’ve been living here for 20 years and I haven’t seen anything like it. The hailstorm has been awful. It was like a flood, covering the entire area” said another Arganda resident who was preparing to celebrate the festivities next week.
“In my shop we have taken almost a ton of hail,” explained the owner of another furniture store that says the situation in many in the stores is chaotic as “a lot of water and hail has entered.”
The mayor of Arganda del Rey, Guillermo Pita, said that on Tuesday morning the City Council will open an office to attend to those who have been affected by the storm.
The Emergency Center 112 is managing to deal with numerous warnings coming from all the zones of the Community, but mainly of municipalities to the south and east in relation to the rains.
Firefighters of the Community of Madrid are working intensively with water rafts on public roads, flooding garages and removing branches and trees from the street. Thankfully there have been no reported injuries in relation to these interventions.
The M-506 road has also been closed as it passes through Fuenlabrada, at kilometre 21, due to floods and large swathes of caused by the severe storm of water and hail that is affecting the whole of the region.
