Madrid residents told to stay at home as torrential rain sweeps across Spain

The mayor of Madrid has advised all residents to stay at home as the capital city prepares for heavy rain and storms that are affecting various parts of Spain. The national weather agency, AEMET, has issued a maximum red alert for Sunday in the Madrid region, Toledo province, and the city of Cadiz, indicating possible extreme danger. AEMET has predicted that up to 120 litres per square metre of rain could fall over a period of 12 hours in Madrid.

In response to the weather forecast, Madrid Mayor Jose Luis Martinez-Almeida took to X, formerly Twitter, to urge the people of Madrid to stay at home. Martinez-Almeida expressed concern about the exceptional and abnormal situation, stating that rainfall records are likely to be broken due to the intensity of the rain.

Despite the looming dark storm clouds over Madrid on Sunday afternoon, many people were still outside going about their usual activities. However, one Madrid resident named Manuel Loro supported the red alert and advised fellow residents to avoid using their cars and head home earlier, especially since the rain is expected to be strongest at six o’clock.

In order to alert residents about the flood risks and discourage the use of vehicles, the emergency services in Madrid have sent text messages to the public. Additionally, the LaLiga match between Atletico Madrid and Sevilla, which was scheduled to take place in Madrid’s Wanda Metropolitano stadium in the evening, has been suspended due to the red alert.

Meanwhile, in Alcanar, Tarragona, located on the east coast of Spain, residents have also been confined to their homes due to flooding caused by 215 litres per square metre of rain in the past 24 hours.

Reporting on the situation, Elena Rodriguez and Guillermo Martinez have noted the precautionary measures being taken as a result of the extreme weather, while Jessica Jones has written this article, which was edited by Andrew Cawthorne.