València and its metropolitan area, which includes many of the towns that suffered the October 2024 DANA (which caused 232 deaths), have endured a nightmare night and early morning due to a downpour that collapsed the capital and caused flooding in cities like Torrent. It was so intense that flights at València airport were suspended for a time, the Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat Valenciana network (metro) was completely halted, serious problems arose in commuter trains, access to the capital was blocked, the match between Levante and Athletic Bilbao was postponed, and residents of the towns in the barranco del Poyo feared that the flow would overflow and cause a tragedy similar to that of almost two years ago. The Aemet agency had issued an orange warning days ago, and the Generalitat Valenciana issued the ES-Alert last night when the downpour had already collapsed València and its surroundings.
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The episode was especially intense in some points of the metropolitan area. In Torrent, 95.8 liters per square meter were recorded until 10:00 p.m., of which 71 fell in just half an hour, an intensity that AVAMET described as “more than torrential.” In Chiva, 96.2 liters were reached, while Montserrat accumulated 83.6; l’Eliana, 83.4; Alboraia, 79.4, and València, 70.2. During the night, some AVAMET network records even exceeded 100 liters per square meter.
The rain turned some of the main access roads to the capital into real black spots for hours. The bypass, the CV-35, and the A-3 and A-7 highways were seriously affected by the intensity of the rainfall and the lack of visibility. Thousands of drivers advanced with great difficulty, and the Local Police kept numerous tunnels in València and its metropolitan area closed due to the risk of flooding. Metrovalencia also suffered interruptions and delays on several lines.
The situation led the Generalitat Emergencies to activate level 1 of the Special Flood Plan shortly before ten at night. The measure was adopted due to localized floods that could be controlled with the available resources in the affected areas. At the same time, a yellow hydrological pre-emergency was activated in several areas, including the barrancos of Poyo-Saleta, Baix Túria, and Carraixet-Calderona.
But the episode again put the barranco del Poyo at the center of attention. In Torrent, Paiporta, and Aldaia, municipalities severely hit by the October 2024 DANA, residents watched with concern as the rain fell with extraordinary intensity. Around 60 liters per square meter were recorded in an hour in Paiporta and Aldaia. There were no overflows of ravines or significant material damage, but a feeling that seemed buried under almost two years of distance reappeared: fear.
In Torrent, the situation was especially complicated. The downpour caused flooding in some homes and forced the evacuation of fifteen people from a fast-food establishment, according to Mayor Amparo Folgado. Emergency services also had to assist drivers and pedestrians affected by the water. Despite the intensity of the rainfall, no serious personal injuries were reported during the night.
The Generalitat sent the ES-Alert at 10:08 p.m. to mobile phones in the province of Valencia to warn of the flood risk. The message recommended avoiding travel, staying away from riverbeds and ravines, respecting traffic closures, and moving to upper floors if the water level rose. However, the timing of the alert generated criticism: the warning arrived when the rain had already caused significant mobility problems and flooded various points in València and its metropolitan area.
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The intensity of the storm also forced the closure of València airport in Manises after water affected its facilities. Until that moment, two flights had been diverted. The Levante-Athletic match, which was scheduled to start at 9:30 p.m., had to be postponed due to weather conditions and the state of the playing field.
The Emergencies report gives an idea of the scale of the episode. By eleven at night, 478 incidents related to the rains had been managed in the province of Valencia. Of these, 214 corresponded to València city, 45 to Torrent, 22 to l’Eliana, 16 to la Pobla de Vallbona, another 16 to Moncada, and 14 to San Antonio de Benagéber. Most were related to water accumulation, leaks, traffic problems, and material damage.
The Provincial Consortium firefighters also increased their interventions. Since eight in the evening, they had carried out more than sixty services, mainly due to fires caused by lightning, blocked vehicles, driver rescues, and inspections on bridges and other flooded points. Up to that moment, no serious personal injuries related to the episode were reported.
The night also left images of an extraordinarily active storm, with numerous lightning strikes, strong wind gusts — up to 100 kilometers per hour in some areas — and accumulations exceeding 50 liters per square meter in many towns of l’Horta and nearby regions of València. Some observatories exceeded 100 liters, with records of 106 liters in l’Eliana and 102.4 in Chiva-Calicanto.
However, the episode does not end with dawn. Aemet maintains the orange warning for this Thursday on the southern coast of Valencia and the coast of Alicante due to precipitation that may reach 60 liters per square meter in one hour and accumulations exceeding 120 liters in twelve hours. The forecast even contemplates that these 120 liters could be concentrated in just two or three hours. The orange warning will remain active until three in the afternoon and will then be downgraded to yellow until eight in the evening, with a risk of rain up to 30 liters per square meter in one hour and storms accompanied by hail.
The forecast has led several municipalities to suspend classes. Carcaixent, l’Alcúdia, Bétera, and Alberic have adopted this measure, as has València in the educational centers of the southern districts. In Elx, Orihuela, and Santa Pola, teaching activities have also been suspended.
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