Spanish islands hit by floods as red alert issued due to 'extraordinary danger'

The Spanish holiday islands of Ibiza and Formentera have been hit by widespread flooding.

The popular Mediterranean destinations were placed under "red alert" on Tuesday, as the country's national weather service AEMET warned of "torrential rains" and floods. As of 5.30pm local time on Tuesday (4.30pm UK time), Ibiza's capital Ibiza Town had seen 239mm of rain over the past 24 hours, with Ibiza airport recording 168.3mm.

There was 105.4mm of rainfall recorded on Formentera in the same period. AEMET had said on Tuesday that more than 180mm could fall in 12 hours, as the region was hit by the remnants of former Hurricane Gabrielle.

The service warned of "extraordinary danger" as it issued the alert, which was in place until 4pm local time (3pm UK time). The Spanish military emergency unit (UME) has been deployed to the islands, with reinforcements expected from Majorca and Valencia, as afternoon school classes were suspended and medical appointments cancelled, according to the Majorca Daily Bulletin.

It said residents on Ibiza and Formentera got a mass civil protection alert on their phones, warning of "flooding risk due to torrential rain" and urging people to avoid travel, stay indoors, and move to higher levels if water got into their homes. Ibiza airport has been hit by heavy rain, with significant leaks throughout the terminal, but operations have mostly continued as normal, according to the Majorca Daily Bulletin.

It said some flights had to be diverted during the heaviest downpours. By midday local time (11am UK time), emergency services in Ibiza had responded to 132 incidents, including 78 in Ibiza Town.

Most reports involved flooded streets and basements, fallen trees, and road closures. Ibiza firefighters have reportedly rescued about 15 people trapped in lifts, vehicles, and ground-floor properties due to severe flooding.

Read more from Sky News:South African ambassador found dead outside Paris hotelHurricanes to bring heavy rain and strong winds to UK Jose Antonio Lopez, from the Ibiza council fire service, told IB3 Television that crews have dealt with about 50 flood-related incidents across the island so far. All bus services to and from Ibiza Town were suspended because of severe flooding that affected roads such as the E10 and various streets within the town.

Sky's weather presenter Jo Robinson said: "It's still raining across the south of the island, but there should be some improvement later this evening. "Significant rainfall totals have been seen across eastern parts of Spain over the last few days due to torrential rain and thunderstorms from the remnants of Hurricane Gabrielle." She added: "The weather will improve over Spain, with the rest of the week looking mainly fine and dry." Meanwhile, AEMET downgraded its rain alert for the eastern region of Valencia on the Spanish mainland.

It was cut by two levels from red - its highest - to yellow, a day after torrential downpours forced schools across the region to close. Monday's red alert in Valencia brought back memories of October 2024, when flooding killed more than 230 people.

Over half a million pupils in Valencia missed lessons on Monday as 243 local councils shut schools as a precaution, said the AFP news agency..