Ibiza airport flooded and flights cancelled following heavy rainfall

Become an Independent member to bookmark this article Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Membership today. Join today Already a member? Log in Stormy weather caused flight cancellations and delays across the Balearic Islands , while deadly floodwaters led to widespread destruction on the Spanish coast. Heavy rainfall from Storm Adam has caused flooding across parts of mainland Spain and affected popular islands like Ibiza and Mallorca. Sections of Ibiza airport had to be cordoned off as rain seeped through the ceilings onto the floors. Ibiza’s main road leading to the airport was closed earlier on Monday, but has since reopened to traffic. The weather station at the airport logged a record-breaking 173mm of rainfall in 24 hours on Sunday, 18 October, the highest figure at this location since 1944 when records began. Spanish airport group Aena has asked passengers arriving at and departing from Ibiza airport by car to take extra precautions. Ibiza’s council said bus services are operating around the island, but with difficulties. Large puddles of water have been reported accumulating on some roads, while the council also warned of rockfall danger in Ibiza’s northern region. It adds that passengers should check with their airline for any flight updates, as many popular tourist destinations remain under an orange weather alert. Ibiza airport saw 24 flights cancelled on Sunday, with another 168 significantly delayed. On Monday, 19 October, a further five were cancelled, and 101 were delayed. Palma airport experienced 33 cancellations on Sunday, with a further 10 today and 12 flight diversions, while over 1,000 flights were delayed over the past two days. Aemet, Spain’s meteorological agency, has issued orange rain alerts for several areas of the country, including Barcelona, Tarragona, Girona and Cadiz as of Monday afternoon. Larger areas across eastern and southern mainland Spain, as well as the Balearic Islands, except for Menorca, are under yellow rain and storm alerts. Alicante, Valencia, Mallorca and Ibiza have all been downgraded from a previous red alert, the maximum weather alert level. At least three people have died as a result of Storm Adam, including a 55-year-old woman who went swimming at Almardà Beach near Valencia. A second woman, 35, died after being swept away in Cabrera de Mar, about 27 km north of Barcelona, as she tried to cross a river ​with her children on Saturday night. The downpour cut off several towns along the Mediterranean coast as rivers burst their banks, causing evacuations and shelter-in-place orders for hundreds of thousands of residents. The military found the body of a woman in the town of Oliva, down the coast from Valencia, bringing the death toll to three, Reuters reports. Aemet says that from Tuesday, 20 October, very heavy showers could still occur, especially in the first half of the day in the coastal and pre-coastal areas of the far northeast of the peninsula and the Balearic Islands Rainfall could total 300-400 mm, but the agency could not accurately predict which specific areas will be affected. Read more: Is it safe to travel to Turkey? Deadly flooding prompts Foreign Office update