Madrid, 3 Septmber 2023 (dpa/MIA) - Almost 10,000 people in one north-eastern Spanish town were not allowed to leave their homes on Sunday due to the risks posed by the severe storms moving across the region, as Madrid and other locations were placed under a maximum red alert by the national weather agency.

Residents of the Catalan town Alcanar were banned from going outside until further notice due to the danger of flash floods from the ongoing storms, the emergency services announced.

Townspeople were also advised to go to the upper floors of their houses, if possible.

Over the course of 24 hours this weekend, 215 litres of rain per square metre fell in Alcanar.

Thunderstorms, hail, torrential rain and gale-force winds were expected to last at least until Monday morning in some regions of Spain.

Train services between Valencia and Barcelona were suspended because of the heavy rainfall, the Spanish railway company Renfe said.

Areas in Andalusia and Castilla-La Mancha, as well as the capital Madrid, were placed under the highest weather alert level by the AEMET weather service.

Several rural roads and parks have already had to be closed due to flooding.

In Madrid, the first division football match between Atlético and Sevilla FC was postponed just hours before kick-off on Sunday.

The bad weather was blamed for the deaths of two men aged 34 and 31 on Saturday. The two had been canyoning in the Zaragoza region in a group of eight when, according to their companions, they fell into the raging water and drowned.

Photo: EPA