Brit holidaymakers face yet more travel chaos amid heavy flooding in Spain with more than 100 flights cancelled.
Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat Airport became flooded today amid torrential downpours.
Aviation analytics company Cirium said more than 100 flights have been cancelled as a result.
A red alert ‘extreme danger’ warning is in place across Barcelona and people are being urged not to travel unless necessary.
An easyJet spokesperson said passengers are also advised to allow plenty of time to get to the airport due to a number of motorways and roads across Barcelona being flooded as well as cancelled train services.
Passengers wait at El Prat Airport after several flights were cancelled due to heavy rains, in Barcelona, Catalonia
A man is seen taking his shoes off and wading through the departures hall at El Prat airport
Water is seen pouring from the ceiling of the El Prat airport, where flights have been diverted amid the deluge
An Iberia airlines plane ploughs through floodwaters at El Prat airport this morning
Floodwaters are seen on the runway at El Prat airport in Barcelona, with flights being diverted
They told MailOnline: ‘While our flying programme at Barcelona is currently operating, due to adverse weather conditions in the area we are advising customers to check local travel advice, leave plenty of time to get to the airport and check our flight tracker for the most up to date information on their flights.
‘The safety and wellbeing of customers and crew is easyJet’s highest priority and while this is outside of our control, we are sorry for any inconvenience caused by the weather.’Â
The UK Foreign Office said on its website: ‘Severe weather and flooding is affecting many areas of Southern and Eastern Spain, particularly the Valencia region and Castilla La Mancha. Journeys may be affected.
‘Check the latest weather warnings from Spain’s meteorological office before you travel and follow instructions from local authorities.’
Torrential rain has deluged parts of Spain over the past week, causing devastating floods in Valencia which have left more than 200 people dead.
Spain’s national weather service Aemet predicted that as much as 180mm – or 180 litres of rain per square metre – could fall around Barcelona’s El Prat airport in 24 hours.
The seemingly relentless showers are caused by Dana – a high-altitude isolated depression which builds up huge, water-laden clouds that can stay over the same area for many hours.
The event sometimes provokes large hail storms and tornadoes, as seen this week.
Eastern and southern Spain are particularly susceptible to the phenomenon due to the area’s position between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.
Aviation analytics company Cirium said more than 100 flights have been cancelled. (Passengers wait in El Prat Airport)
A red alert ‘extreme danger’ warning is in place across Barcelona and people are being urged not to travel unless necessary. (Passengers wait at El Prat Airport)
An easyJet spokesperson said passengers are also advised to allow plenty of time to get to the airport
Pictured, A-27 highway in Spain following a landslide amid intense rainfall near the town of Valls
Cars piled up in a ditch at a construction site after being swept off the road by powerful floods
Rescuers continue to search for survivors with fears underwater car parks will be ‘mass graves’
Aemet issued a red alert this morning for the Barcelona coastline, warning of the ‘extreme danger’ as a result of the ‘very intense downpour’.
A deluge of 150mm accumulated at the airport in just four hours this morning, it reported.
The record-breaking rainfall over the past week came after an almost two-year drought, meaning that when the deluge happened, the ground was so hard it could not absorb the rain.
The unusually high temperature of the Mediterranean has also increased the risk of flooding.
It had its warmest surface temperature on record in August, at 28.47 degrees Celsius (83.25 degrees Fahrenheit), said Carola Koenig of the Centre for Flood Risk and Resilience at Brunel University of London.
Experts say that drought and flood cycles are increasing with climate change.
As well as Valencia, the worst-hit area, the floods have now affected parts of Catalonia, Castilla-La Mancha, Murcia, Andalusia, and the Balearic Islands.
Authorities in Valencia said on Sunday that hopes of finding more survivors are fading days after the most intense rainfall on October 29 triggered catastrophic floods.
Torrents of water wrecked homes and vehicles, leaving locals stranded without power and vital supplies.