While the Basque Country is still counting the cost of the damage caused by last weekend's gales, torrential rain is now threatening to cause flooding in the region.

Bilbao has already been badly affected, with the River Nervion rising to such an extent that part of the old city centre has had to be evacuated.

Emergency Services in the area remain on orange alert and the regional government has already put into action its Special Emergency Flood Plan.

More than 30 schools in Vizcaya and Álava were evacuated yesterday as a preventative measure.

In San Sebastian the rising level of the River Urumea prompted authorities to put a "pre-alert" plan into operation, warning residents to move cars parked close to the river or in nearby underground car parks.

Local authorities in Vitoria are keeping a close eye on the River Zadorra, as over 60 litres of rain per square metre had been forecast for this area.

A pre-emergency plan has been activated in Navarra as rising water levels in a number of the local rivers (Arga, Arakil and Ega) made several roads in the region unpassable.

The situation in the Basque Country, Aragón, Navarra and Cantabria is now so serious that government vice-president, Maria Teresa Fernández de la Vega and Environment Minister, Elena Espinosa, have offered help to these four regions.