Spain: Flash floods damage buildings and sweep away cars in Alicante

Homes and businesses were left severely damaged after the Spanish region of Alicante was battered by flash flooding.

Up to four inches of rainfall hit the town of Torrevieja on Friday, according to the State Meteorological Agency (AEMET).

This resulted in the evacuation of the Dama de Guardamar school in Vega Baja del Segura.

Video footage showed deep levels of water sweeping through buildings, while cars were seen submerged as streets in Alicante were left underwater.

This is not the first time Alicante has been hit with flash flooding this year.

Alicantetoday.com reported Guardamar del Segura and Santa Pola in the south-east of Spain were also hit with flooding back in August due to a rare climate-linked weather phenomenon.

A "meteotsunami", which is also known locally as a "rissaga", caused the flooding due to a sudden change in atmospheric pressure that made the tide quickly recede, before a large tsunami-like wave then hit back into the coast.

Meanwhile, police in Costa Blanca, which lies along the coastline in the Alicante province, have been given new kits for their cars to help deal with flooding.

The new devices include portable communication radios so they can quickly alert other officers, fire fighters and the health services when extreme weather occurs.

Jose Sampere, the mayor of the San Fulgencio area, said the devices will be a "fundamental tool for the coordination of actions in case of emergency".