Catalonia recorded 5,156 emergency calls and up to 2,440 firefighter interventions during a severe weekend storm that left two people dead, one person missing, and thousands without power, according to local emergency services.
Two Fatalities Confirmed Across Tordera and Montornès del Vallès
The destructive weather system claimed a life early Sunday morning when a 65-year-old man died at the Caravaning Internacional Costa Brava campsite in Tordera. Bombers de la Generalitat reported that a wall collapsed, striking the man and causing fatal injuries despite immediate resuscitation attempts. Later in the day, emergency crews discovered a second victim dead inside an inundated parking structure in Montornès del Vallès after his circle reported him missing.
Search Operations Underway for a Missing Youth in Pineda de Mar
Rescue teams spent Sunday searching for a young man who fell into a torrent in Pineda de Mar and was swept out to sea. According to Oriol Corbella, head of intervention for the fire service cited by Crónica Global, six fire crews equipped with underwater search units, aerial drones, a maritime rescue helicopter, a Mossos d’Esquadra launch, and ground patrols combed the stream path throughout the daylight hours. Also taking part were a Maritime Rescue helicopter, a Mossos launch, and Guardia Civil officers on foot. The search operation is scheduled to resume at first light on Monday.
Severe Infrastructure Disruption and Power Outages Across the Region
The relentless downpours marked the most abundant precipitation of the last twenty years, triggering widespread disruptions. Civil Protection figures showed that electrical outages left 16,000 users without power Sunday morning, a figure that dropped to 14,000 by evening. Flash floods penetrated facilities at the Vall d’Hebron Hospital, while urban transit suffered extensive cancellations, including suspended regional rail services on Rodalies and Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat, alongside flight cancellations at El Prat Airport.
Government Response and Lifted Restrictions in Alt and Baix Empordà
Catalan President Salvador Illa traveled to Montornès del Vallès on Sunday afternoon to survey the damage firsthand and meet with the family of the victim. By 9:00 p.m. local time, the regional government lifted the remaining emergency restrictions that had been enforced across Alt and Baix Empordà. The storm continued striking the northeast of the territory, specifically in the comarques of Vallès Oriental, Maresme, and the coast down to Baix Empordà, where up to two Es-alert warnings were received early Sunday morning extending mobility restrictions, alongside an alert message sent to populations near the Besòs River regarding a possible overflow.
While Barcelona schools passed safety inspections to reopen normally on Monday, at least nine educational facilities across Maresme, Barcelonès, and the Vallès counties remained closed, specifically comprising two schools, four institutes, two adult education centres (CFA), and one Official Language School (EOI) in Maresme, Barcelonès, Vallès Oriental, and Vallès Occidental. These closures affect the Escola Bellavista-Joan Camps i Giró and Escola Guerau de Liost in les Franqueses del Vallès; Institut Ramon Turró i Darder in Malgrat de Mar; Institut Mercè Rodoreda in l’Hospitalet de Llobregat; Institut Professional de Turisme Eqüestre del Maresme in Santa Susanna; Institut Mediterrània in el Masnou; and the CFA Vallès in Granollers and CFA Jaume Tuset in Ripollet.
Related reading
