Updated

A flash flood struck the town of Madrigueras in south-east Spain on Friday, Oct 2, 2026, killing a 102-year-old woman and forcing firefighters to rescue 90 people. The town received 142 litres of rain per square metre in just two and a half hours, submerging streets, damaging businesses, stranding vehicles and trapping residents in their homes. The flooding followed Spain's hottest summer on record, during which more than 2,000 people are believed to have died from heat-related causes in August, underscoring a pattern of extreme weather whiplash in the region.