Footage on social media shows water cascading from the cliffs below the iconic Puente Viejo bridge in Ronda, Malaga following the heaviest bout of rain in years.
Across Malaga, thousands of people were forced to evacuate as severe thunderstorms and torrential rain battered coastal Spain once again, just two weeks after the country experienced deadly flooding in Valencia.
Five areas near the Guadalhorce riverbank were preemptively evacuated due to the risk of overflowing.
In just one hour, nearly a month’s worth of rainfall inundated the city of Malaga, in Spain’s Andalusia region, according to the country’s meteorological agency Aemet.
Locals in Ronda revealed that it was the first time the waterfall had appeared in their lifetimes, according to The Olive Press.
On X, one user wrote: “This is what the Puente Nuevo looks like right now after several days of rain and with the Guadalevín River having more water than usual.”
Ronda was on a yellow level alert for heavy rainfall for multiple days this week, while Malaga and the Costa del Sol were on the more severe red alert.
There are no reported injuries or deaths following the deluge, largely thanks to the improved warning system. A fortnight ago in Valencia, due to a slow response by the local government – which is in charge of sending alerts to citizens’ phones – news of the danger did not trickle down to the people most at risk.
Many Spaniards have expressed anger at the city’s lack of preparations in the face of Europe’s increasing extreme weather events. At least 216 people are known to have died in the deadly flooding in Valencia.
On this occasion, alerts were sent out to thousands of mobile phones ahead of the heavy rain, advising residents to avoid unnecessary journeys. The streets of Marbella and general Costa del Sol were practically abandoned in the run up to the deluge.
Puente Viejo, “Old Bridge”, is the second oldest and second lowest of the three bridges that span the 120-metre deep chasm that carries the Guadalevín River.
It was built in 1616 and currently only carries pedestrian traffic.
