Around 1,500 visitors to Montserrat monastery had to be evacuated by cable car yesterday after a landslide in the Els Degotalls zone blocked road and rail access to the emblematic tourist attraction.

Nine rocks each with a surface area superior to fifteen cubic metres fell from a height of around 100 metres close to the car park though no vehicles were damaged, and a small number of visitors preferred to stay put until the road is opened so that they can leave by car.

This is not the first incident of its type on the mountain this year - two workers lost their lives clearing a landslide on the B-1121 access road last month.

Elsewhere in the northeast, coastal towns are assessing the extensive damage caused by last weekend's storms though Cataluña was not the only region affected.

A total of eleven mountain passes were closed by the heavy snowfalls - Asturias (1), Burgos (2), Cáceres (2), Cantabria (4), La Rioja (1) and León (1) - and choppy seas and gale force winds have disrupted ferry services across the Straits of Gibraltar.

A woman rescued after being swept into the sea in Gandía (Valencia) on Saturday, has been discharged from hospital after treatment for hypothermia. Her male companion died in the accident.