Roads blocked, towns isolated and people advised to stay at home: Torrential rains lashed much of Spain over the weekend after a summer marked by extreme temperatures, AFP and Reuters reported, citing Agerpres.

AFP notes that torrential rains are expected to continue on Monday in a weather episode of the famous phenomenon in Spain.

Named “Dana” (an acronym in Spanish for “isolated high-level depression”), it generated “persistent and widespread rainfall, locally heavy or very heavy, accompanied by storms, over the entire territory, except for the Canary Islands,” according to The The Guardian. National Meteorological Agency (Aemet) of Spain.

Rainfall could reach 120 litres/m3 in 24 hours or even as little as 12 hours locally, according to the Ministry of the Interior in Madrid, which has issued a warning for much of Spain.

The Spanish authorities were all the more worried because last weekend marked the return from the holidays before the start of the new academic year, and the roads risked becoming very congested.

Spanish authorities advised people to stay at home

The Directorate General of Transport (DGT) repeated its calls throughout Sunday to “not use cars and stay at home, given that many roads are completely covered in water and power outages have become more frequent”.

Train services were also disrupted in several sections, Spanish rail company Renfe said, offering travelers to postpone their journeys without paying any additional fees.

In Madrid, a warning sounded on all mobile phones in the region: “Due to the extreme risk of storms in the Madrid region today, do not drive and stay at home.”

In several cities across the country, mayors have asked local residents to stay indoors due to flood risks.

In Toledo, an important tourist city, Mayor Carlos Velazquez urged his fellow citizens to “stay at home as much as possible.”

In Alcanara, a town between Barcelona and Valencia, the population had to isolate themselves “due to the accumulation of rain and possible flooding”, announced the rescue services, which advised “residents to move to the upper floors of the houses”.

On Monday, “the depression front should move west and into the Atlantic,” Aemet said, adding that showers and storms will continue in the western half and center of the country. According to the Spanish agency, the weather alarm should end on Tuesday.

The floods came after Spain endured another hot summer with temperatures reaching 47 degrees Celsius, close to an all-time record in the Iberian country.