Tropical storm kills dozens in Mexico, while Storm Alice becomes first named phenomenon known as Dana
Just under a year since the devastating 29 October floods across eastern Spain, which led to more than 230 deaths and was one of the worst natural disasters in the country’s history, major flooding has again been affecting the region.
The coastal area stretching from the tourist hotspots of Alicante and Benidorm in the south-east to Barcelona in the north-east, as well as the Balearic islands, have seen rainfall totals of 100-200mm (3.9-7.8in). Thunderstorms have brought hourly rainfall rates of more than 60mm, resulting in flash flooding and leading to travel chaos, including flight cancellations and stranded holidaymakers, as well as damage to property.
Spain’s state meteorological agency, Aemet, declared the extreme wet weather as being the first high-impact Dana of the autumn season. The term Dana stands for depresión aislada en niveles altos (isolated depression at high levels).
A Dana is an upper-atmospheric depression, disconnected from the main airflow, potentially leading to torrential downpours, gusty winds, hail and thunderstorms. The severity of these complex systems is dependent on local conditions such as land – sea temperature differences and humidity, making a forecast of their intensity difficult.
