This Saturday, the Costa Daurada woke up to the consequences of the torrential rains that during the past night caused several injuries, material damage, and flooding in municipalities along the coast of Baix Penedès and Tarragonès. In just a few hours, up to 200 liters per square meter were recorded, leaving behind serious impacts: from people trapped in their vehicles to tourists finishing their vacations who were left without accommodation or, in some cases, without a way to return home.
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This is the case of Xavi Peñarroya, a resident of Barcelona, who is at a campsite in Creixell with his wife, his daughter, a friend of his daughter, and her mother. The storm interrupted their days of rest after being trapped inside a vehicle due to the flooding. “We have been staying here since the 14th and yesterday there was a concert in the neighboring town (Roda de Barà), which my daughter and her friend attended along with other friends from the campsite,” explains Xavi, who went to pick up the teenagers, aged 15, after one in the morning.
“It was raining heavily, but I was able to get there and pick them up. On the way back, there was a lot of water accumulated in a tunnel, but seeing a car pass in the opposite direction, I tried to move forward. However, mine got stuck,” he confesses to this outlet.
We saw a huge amount of water coming in, as if it were a river”
Fortunately, the Local Police arrived at the scene due to the large amount of water accumulated in the tunnel, an area prone to flooding. The three were able to exit through the vehicle windows and were taken to the town police station. “We stayed there until about 6:00 a.m. because there were only two local police officers on duty who were attending to all the emergencies. Shortly after arriving, they left because they had to rescue three other vehicles trapped in the area,” says Peñarroya, who recounts that he was able to count at least 40 calls during the night at the police station.
After receiving dry clothes, they were transferred to the Municipal Hall, set up as a shelter for about ten people affected by the floods. There, Xavi was able to speak with the town mayor, Montserrat Muñoz, who was surprised to learn that the tunnel where the car got stuck had not been closed to prevent traffic.
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“I asked the mayor why the alerts hadn’t sounded. She told me that the campsites had been warned since the day before, but that each one decides whether to notify or not. Last year they did warn us over the loudspeaker about a storm; this time they didn’t. If we had received it, we wouldn’t have gone anywhere,” admits the Barcelonan. According to his testimony, the Local Police were completely overwhelmed by the storm, and they had to request 4×4 vehicles from Civil Protection to deal with the floods. “We saw a huge amount of water coming in, as if it were a river,” explains Xavi.
In the car, we had the boxes with everything we had brought. Now we have no way to transport it or where to store it”
After the storm, the family has been temporarily relocated to a bungalow at the campsite, which is still recovering from the floods, and for now has no way to return home. The car was completely submerged, and they have not been able to recover the belongings from the trunk.
“In the car, we had the bags and boxes with everything we had brought, as well as tents, canopies, and more. Now we have neither a car to transport it nor a place to store it. Since the trunk was open, I understand that everything must have been scattered everywhere,” laments Xavi, who had planned to leave the accommodation and return to Barcelona this weekend.
At this time, Xavi’s vehicle remains in the tunnel, where barely part of the roof and a couple of inches of the windows can be seen. Awaiting the Local Police to remove it so that the insurance can take charge, local children swim to it to climb onto the roof, while passersby, shocked by the scene, stop to photograph the consequences of the storm on the Costa Daurada.
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