The weather service Aemet warned that 90 millimeters of rain can fall within an hour late on Saturday in areas near Barcelona and Tarragona, with flooding as a result. The warning was changed at 18 o'clock to the second highest, orange level, but the danger is not over according to Aemet.
The population is urged to follow the authorities' instructions. The Catalan government has decided to convene its crisis committee to carefully monitor the development, writes El País.
At Barcelona's airport, a passenger plane on its way to the USA was forced to turn back after it got its nose crushed by a hail storm. No people were injured.
Roads have been closed in several places due to flooding. Also in the region of Aragon in the north, a red warning was issued for heavy rain.
In October last year, 225 people were killed in floods in the province of Valencia, the deadliest natural disaster that Spain has experienced in decades.
