Ibiza hit by heaviest rainfall since 1952 as floods shut schools, beaches

A view of the flooded Ibiza Airport highway. Spain's Mediterranean islands of Ibiza and Formentera closed beaches and schools as torrential rain triggered floods and the highest weather alert. Photo / Vicent Mari, AFP

Spain’s Mediterranean holiday islands of Ibiza and Formentera emerged relatively unscathed from torrential rainfall today that triggered floods and prompted the closure of beaches and schools.

The downpours came a day after the eastern Valencia region, where more than 200 people died 11 months ago in Spain’s deadliest floods in decades, was also placed under the highest weather alert for rain.

National weather agency Aemet said on X that the “extraordinary” downpours represented the wettest day since at least 1952 in Ibiza, known for its pristine beaches and exuberant nightlife.

In the town of Ibiza, Aemet said a measuring station provisionally recorded 254 litres of rain per square metre in 24 hours – “more than half of the usual rainfall in a whole year in the area”.

Footage on social media showed pedestrians wading through muddy water on an Ibiza beachfront lined with palm trees, bars and restaurants as sirens from emergency vehicles wailed in the background.

Murky brown water also gushed through streets, sweeping away large waste containers and forcing vehicles to advance at a crawl.

The Balearic Islands’ regional Government reported 179 incidents on Ibiza and six on Formentera, most related to flooding on ground floors, roads, falling trees and urban material, as well as the risk of rivers overflowing.

Regional authorities said three people were lightly injured in a landslip near a hotel but confirmed no serious injuries or deaths.

The Spanish Army’s emergencies unit deployed with reinforcements from the neighbouring island of Mallorca and the mainland to help pump water from buildings and clear roads, some of which remained cut off.

Painful memories

Emergency services on Ibiza and Formentera had sent a mass telephone alert to warn residents, suspending all classes and shutting beaches.

All education centres would remain shut in Ibiza town tomorrow, the regional authorities announced, saying normality would return on Friday after a full revision of all school buildings.

Aemet lifted all weather warnings for Ibiza and Formentera by the evening after earlier declaring the highest red alert.

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez expressed his concern on X, urging people to “exercise caution and follow information from official channels”.

A red alert yesterday forced schools to shut for more than half a million pupils in the Valencia region, reviving painful memories of last year’s floods.

Scientists say human-driven climate change is intensifying extreme weather events such as the heavy rainfall that triggers floods, with a warmer atmosphere capable of holding more water.

Oceans have absorbed 90% of the excess heat produced by human activity since the industrial age, according to scientists, causing the Mediterranean Sea to warm rapidly.

– Agence France-Presse