Two people were killed and one is missing following heavy rain and flooding in the Spanish region of Catalonia, authorities said on Sunday.
Salvador Illa, the regional leader, confirmed on Sunday on social media that a man had died after a wall collapsed in Tordera, a town north of Barcelona. A second person died in the town of Montornès del Vallès, fire officials reported on Sunday. Emergency services are searching for a missing person in Pineda de Mar, a town 52 km north of Barcelona.
Regional authorities issued a red alert and told residents to stay indoors from 8pm on Saturday to 2pm on Sunday. There was a risk that the north-east region would be hit by a 'mini-typhoon', with heavy rain forecast.
Homes were flooded following heavy rain on Saturday, with water trapping cars in the Bellvitge quarter and the town of Cornellà near Barcelona. Ducks were seen swimming in large puddles near the highway in Barcelona.
The head of the regional meteorological service, MeteoCat, said on Saturday that the centre of the weather system was over the Mediterranean, but that the 'mini-typhoon' could move over land in Catalonia.
Flights at Barcelona airport were cancelled or delayed, according to a report in La Vanguardia on Saturday. Heavy rain also caused disruptions to local train services, with shops closed earlier, matches cancelled, and a performance of Verdi's 'Aida' at the Barcelona opera house, the Liceu, cancelled.
