In Torrent, a city of around 85,000 people in the Horta Sud area, streets were covered in mud, with several vehicles damaged or left unusable, and emergency crews in the town rescued 15 people blocked inside a fast‑food restaurant as water poured in. Local residents told the AFP news agency that similar flooding had occurred previously and criticised the absence of structural measures to prevent it.
Residents also questioned the timing of Spain’s ES‑Alert emergency warning system. The ES‑Alert, sent at 10:08 pm by the regional emergency centre, urged people to avoid travel, stay away from streams and ravines and move to upper floors if water levels rose, but many said it came after streets, basements and tunnels were already underwater.
The rainfall came after Spain’s hottest summer on record, with the national weather agency AEMET and regional meteorologists warning of heavy rain in eastern regions. In Torrent, the AVAMET network recorded almost 96 litres per square metre in total, with 71 litres falling in just 30 minutes, described as “more than torrential”. The latest flooding also affected the Barranco del Poyo ravine and surrounding areas, including nearby Paiporta, where the watercourse swelled significantly but did not overflow, while emergency teams continued clearing damaged roads and vehicles.