SUDDEN downpours today have flooded the towns of Benidorm and Calpe (Alicante province) leaving drivers trapped in their cars.
Firefighters had to rescue one family from Calpe's Avenida Rumanía – a couple and their nine-year-old son – whose car was stuck in flood water 90 centimetres (three feet) deep, and another two pensioner couples on the Avenida Juan Carlos I.
In Benidorm's Rincón de Loix neighbourhood – known to Spaniards as 'the British Zone' – another two pensioners became trapped in their parked car, two more became stuck in a life in an apartment block, and a pizza delivery man was rescued when his moped was surrounded by flood water.
The provincial fire brigade has warned the public to 'proceed with caution' and to avoid travelling by car if possible, given that numerous roads in and around both towns are blocked.
Around an inch of rain – 21.6 litres per square metre – battered the centre of the province in the space of an hour between 14.00 and 15.00, or a total of over an inch and a half, or 38 litres per square metre, in the three hours up to 17.00.
Alicante city, around an hour south of Calpe and 45 minutes south of Benidorm, has also suffered a drenching, but with only just over half the amount of rain seen further north.
Tidal surges have been reported off the main northern Costa Blanca coasts with waves of over two metres (6'6”) high.
The photograph, by the provincial fire brigade, shows a main dual carriageway in Calpe under water.
