For the second time in just a few weeks, Spain’s capital Madrid experienced heavy rainfall. This Thursday it rained continuously throughout the city for more than ten hours. At times the city center resembled a gigantic laundry room.
The weather station at Retiro City Park reported a rainfall of 93 liters per square meter at 6 p.m., the highest amount ever measured there. In 1972, 87 liters were measured.
The city administration declared a red alert. The horns of ambulances formed the dominant background noise in the city center for hours. Within a short period of time, the fire department carried out more than a hundred rescue missions in the city. Due to the danger of falling branches, the city park was closed to pedestrians from 3 p.m.
At prominent metro stations, such as Plaza España, the water ran down the stairs into the underground in cascading torrents.
Mass water shot up like geysers from some drains at street intersections.
Several metro stations were closed and entire lines were shut down. Videos emerged on social media of people panicking after their subway stopped in the middle of the tunnel and water poured into the carriages.
The Infanta Sofía hospital in the north of the city reported one floor completely flooded. Other clinics also experienced restrictions in operations.
Several access roads to the capital and ring highways had to be closed or rerouted due to flooding. The high-speed rail line to Barcelona was canceled due to technical damage, as were several of the suburban connections that are widely used in Madrid.