A WOMAN is fighting for her life after she was struck by lightning while hiding from a storm under a tree in Spain amid torrential rainfall.
She was struck during the intense DANA storm which has sparked red and orange weather alerts, flooded Spanish streets, and swept away a woman and child this weekend.
Footage shows rescuers in a helicopter looking for the missing people over the riverX
XTwo people were missing in Catalonia on Saturday after much of the region in northeast Spain was hit by torrential rains[/caption]
XThe river is said to have burst its banks after floodgates on the dam were opened due to heavy rain[/caption]
GettyA car remains submerged in water due to heavy rains on July 12[/caption]
The 62-year-old was rushed to hospital in a “critical” condition along with her 22-year-old daughter who was also hurt by the strike but less seriously.
Four police officers attempted CPR on the victim at the scene to revive her before she was taken unconscious to hospital.
The horror lightning strike occurred at around 12.30pm on Saturday near to a famous marina in the east coast Spanish city of Valencia – the Marina Real Juan Carlos I.
The victims are both Russians living locally, and help was called for by the daughter of the woman left fighting for her life.
It comes as a major search operation is still underway after a woman and child went missing at a Spanish holiday hotspot hit by extreme rain.
Rescuers fear that both of them have died after they were swept away by the Foix River in Cubelles near Barcelona amid heavy storms.
The river is said to have burst its banks after floodgates on the dam, which had accumulated a lot of water from the storm, were opened.
According to the Fire Department, the missing woman and child were crossing the river on a footbridge when the current swept them away.
Footage shows rescuers in a helicopter looking for the missing people over the river.
The fire service searched for the pair until the early hours of Sunday morning with 18 crews, including divers, from the last sighting point.
A drone and a boat are now being used and military personnel have been called in to help.
A spokesman for the local fire brigade service said on Sunday: “We have reactivated the search this morning at 8am for two people who according to witnesses fell into the river in Cubelles.
“Until the early hours of this morning the river has been checked without positive results.
The Red Cross in Catalonia said on X: “We are joining the search operation for two people carried away yesterday by the river in Cubelles.”
The heavy storms that affected Spain’s east coast area also forced the closure of a hospital in Villafranca del Penedes – a half-hour drive north of Cubelles – after flooding left it without electricity.
In Valencia where the lightning strike occurred, city hall officials closed parks and council-run swimming pools and red flags went up at beaches.
Residents and holidaymakers there were also advised to limit travel.
Torrential rains pummelled Spain‘s Catalonia region – prompting the weather department to issue a red alert.
Shutterstock EditorialThe DANA storm has caused catastrophic flash flooding in Catalonia near Barcelona[/caption]
EPAA flooded road near the village of Grisen, Aragon, northeastern Spain[/caption]
EPAPeople cross a street during a rainfall in Barcelona, Catalonia, eastern Spain[/caption]
Train service was suspended in north-east Catalonia on Saturday, as much of the Spanish region was placed on high alert over possible torrential rains, officials said.
Spain‘s weather service Aemet said that 90 millimetres of rain could fall in the space of an hour later on Saturday near Barcelona and the Tarragona region.
Calling the situation “extraordinary”, the weather service warned that torrential rains could cause flooding and urged residents to follow authorities’ instructions.
Meanwhile, a hospital in Barcelona was flooded and had to refuse patients.
Roads were blocked, and a plane that took off from Barcelona for the United States had to turn back after its nose was damaged by hail.
Other regions of the north, such as Aragon, were also hit by heavy rain on Saturday.
It comes as the DANA storm has caused the weather agency to activate red, orange and yellow warnings across dozens of Spanish regions.
AEMET forecasted orange-level warnings on Saturday for severe storms in Huesca, Teruel and Zaragoza, Barcelona, Girona, Lleida and Tarragona, and Castellón.
These regions have been battered by extreme rainfall and potential flash floods, which could disrupt holidays and cause huge damage to neighbourhoods.
ReutersFloodwater flows as it rains in Igualada, Spain[/caption]
GettyA firefighter extracts water from the Hospital Comarcal de l’Alta Penedés, which remains without electricity and water[/caption]
The Military Emergency Unit (UME) was deployed to several towns in Zaragoza to help relieve the damage caused by the brutal rainfall.
Local rescue teams reported over 30 flood-related incidents, including fallen trees and blocked roads, but no casualties.
Shocking footage showed cars being swept away under the waves as intense rainfall pummelled Spanish streets.
Hailstorm was seen pelting the pavements as locals took shelter from the dangerous weather.
There will also be storm warnings in several other regions, including Alicante and Valencia, the Ribera del Ebro in La Rioja and the Iberian Rioja, and Álava, among others.
Spain’s national forecaster said that unstable air was moving across the north and east of the Iberian Peninsula, bringing heavy showers, thunderstorms, and in some places, torrential downpours.
X/Top Disaster100mm of rain reportedly fell in juts one hour in Tarazona, Spain[/caption] Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
