THOUSANDS of people have been forced to evacuate as Storm Alice unleashed torrential rain and flash flooding in Spain.
Dramatic footage from the Tarragona province shows cars piled up on top of each other after being swept away by floods in the nearby municipality of Godall.
Cars were seen almost completely submerged in floodwater after Spain was hit by torrential rainSolarpix
People were forced to take shelter off main roads as flash flooding turned major motorways into riversSolarpix
The deluge turned roads, including major motorways, into rivers and almost completely submerged cars.
The ground floor of many homes was flooded with residents and travellers urged to stay on higher floors.
Overnight, Catalan sports centres were turned into shelters and aid points for motorists left stranded halfway through their journeys.
The Catalan regional government declared a state of emergency in five districts on Sunday, including hardest-hit Tarragona.
Part of the AP-7 motorway – which runs along Spain’s Mediterranean coast – was closed in both directions with vehicles seen trapped in floodwater.
On Monday morning, a reported 1,100 people had spent the night in temporary shelters opened by local councils after the storm battered the Terres de l’Ebre region on the lower course of the Ebre River.
Firefighters in the central command centre in Tortosa said 31 people had been rescued before 1am.
Fire chief David Borrell said that in some cases, those rescued had been “at risk of death”.
Adding to the chaos, rail operator Renfe suspended all trains from Barcelona and Valencia to the Mediterranean Corridor until further notice after weather agency AEMET issued a red weather alert.
In total, 17 trains were cancelled affecting 3,000 passengers.
So far, there have been no reports of fatalities.
On Sunday night, town hall chiefs in Amposta, at the mouth of the Ebre River, warned locals and visitors to remain indoors.
In a message posted to social media just before 10pm, officials said: “Don’t go out onto the street under any circumstances”.
“If your home is flooded, go to higher floors.”
The town hall announced another municipal centre had been opened as a temporary shelter.
Floodwater left the AP-7 motorway closed in both directions overnightSolarpix
More than 1,100 people took shelter in emergency aid centres overnight as roads remained closedSolarpix
The shelter was already housing 650 people whose journeys were delayed by the floods.
A spokesman said: “They are being given food, water and blankets so they can spend the night in the best possible conditions.”
A man who took shelter in a petrol station with his family after being forced to pull off the motorway told local media: “Police had to come and rescue us in the end.
“We saw hundreds and hundreds of cars trapped on the motorway who looked like they were going to have to spend the night there,” he added.
“There will be thousands and thousands of people affected.”
The man said “many streets in Amposta had become impassable”.
“They looked more like rivers.”
Ibiza airport was forced to close after floodwater leaked through the ceilingSolarpix
On Monday morning, Mayor Alexis Albiol said: “It was chaos, we’ve never seen anything like it.”
Southern Catalonia has been the latest Spanish region to experience Storm Alice’s devastating effects after similar scenes in Ibiza on Saturday and before that provinces including Murcia in south-east Spain.
Ibiza suffered heavy flooding during a previous storm just over a week ago, causing popular beachside clubs to close.
Army reinforcements were sent to the Balearic island for the second time in less than a fortnight after the heavens opened again at the weekend.
The flooding forced Ibiza airport to close as rainwater seeped through the ceiling.
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