Overview

• Shortly before 20:00 on Sunday, violent hot winds hit Motril, Salobreña and Torrenueva, sending beach gear airborne, generating a waterspout and reported small tornadoes, and prompting rapid evacuations and multiple 112 calls.
• Guardia Civil’s Servicio Marítimo, Salvamento Marítimo, lifeguards and private vessels pulled people from the water; reports differ between five and at least seven rescues, with all accounted for and safe.
• AEMET identified the event as a localized reventón térmico, a sudden downdraft that rapidly heats and dries surface air and is difficult to pinpoint in advance.
• A widely forwarded WhatsApp ‘tsunami’ message was false, according to 112 Andalucía, which stressed no official alert had been issued.
• The episode came during a 16‑day heatwave now easing; Jerez reached 45.8°C, wildfire danger remains very high in Andalusia, MoMo estimates 2,405 heat‑related excess deaths through 16 August, and authorities confirmed a 77‑year‑old died of heat in La Rambla.