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Flash Flood in Catalonia Sweeps Car, Killing Father and Son

A sudden cloudburst turned normally dry rieras into torrents, complicating forecasts and public warnings.

Overview

  • Rescuers recovered the body of a child Sunday night in the riera de Bitlles at Sant Pere de Riudebitlles and, according to later reports, found the father's body on Monday near the swept‑away vehicle.
  • Emergency services say a witness saw the car carried off around 18:30 Sunday near Sant Quintí de Mediona, after the driver reportedly tried to cross the flooded riera despite warnings.
  • Bombers de la Generalitat led a large search with more than 100 personnel, including subaquatic units, drones, canine teams and a helicopter, expanding the search corridor from 6 to about 17 kilometers.
  • Meteocat logged one of the episode’s heaviest downpours at Montserrat–Sant Dimes with around 126 mm, illustrating the highly localized rains that rapidly raised normally shallow channels to 2.5–3 meters.
  • Across Catalonia, 112 reported 616 rain-related calls and Bombers handled roughly 220 incidents, with road, rail and funicular disruptions and separate rescues including three uninjured hikers at Pedraforca.