Expats living in Spain were left terrified last night as a government flood alert sent to all phones caused them to make a loud sound.
The “red alert” sent out by the Spanish government caused an alarm to sound from people’s devices, described as “extremely painful to the ears”.
The warning sound came with a message in Spanish and English sent from the government to thousands of people across the Costa del Sol and other parts of the Málaga region.
It read: “Civil alert… Red warning activated (Aemet), extreme risk of rainfall… be very cautious, avoid travel and follow the advice of 112.” This is understood to be the first use of the Proteccion Civil force’s new Es-Alert system in Malaga.
Several areas of the country have again been placed on high alert, with a new weather front expected to bring torrential rain and low temperatures, just two weeks after flash floods killed hundreds of people in and around Valencia.
So far the downpours have seen nearly 3,000 people have been evacuated from areas on the banks of the Guadalhorce river in Malaga. Meanwhile high speed train services between Malaga and Madrid halted and Malaga Clinical Hospital has suspended activity due to flooding.
Fears are growing the Campanillas River which links Antequera and Malaga will overflow this afternoon as the weather situation worsens. One British expat described how they had been startled by the loud alarm. “I nearly spilled my tea all over me, the sound was like something out an apocalypse film, but it’s fair to say we are all bl***y aware now!” they told the Olive Press.
Red alerts remain in place in Malaga until midnight and Tarragona until 10pm. Other areas of Andalusia, Catalonia and the Valencian Community are under an orange warning - the second on a scale of three - for rain.
I just got an alert on my phone, it frightened the c**p out of us!” another expat told the outlet. “It flashed up like an alarm and made this horrible beeping sound that was painful to the ears.”