Heavy rain lashes northeast Spain, injuring 11

Heavy rain battered northeast Spain, flooding streets, trapping people in cars, forcing the evacuation of a campsite and injuring 11 people, officials said Saturday.

Three people were injured, one critically, when a wall collapsed near the seafront at the port of Roda de Bera, about 75 kilometres (45 miles) southwest of Barcelona, emergency services said. Firefighters had to free two people trapped under the rubble.

Seven people were taken to hospital following other incidents, including two who were injured when another wall collapsed during the overnight storm at a campsite in Roda de Bera.

Firefighters evacuated around 300 people staying at the campsite, with about 100 taking shelter at a municipal sports centre, officials said.

Around 100 people were evacuated from a nightclub in El Vendrell, a town of about 40,000 people, and taken to a school.

The seafront in El Vendrell was submerged under more than half a metre (20 inches) of water, while several streets in nearby Coma-ruga and Torredembarra were also flooded, Catalan public television reported.

El Vendrell was among the areas worst affected, recording 145.4 litres of rain per square metre (26.7 imperial gallons per square yard) in 24 hours, according to the Catalan Meteorological Service.

Emergency services received more than 800 calls, with firefighters rescuing people from vehicles trapped in floodwater and dealing with flooded premises, the service said in a statement.

The storm came a week after a flood and landslide triggered by torrential rain killed two women in northwest Spain.