Eight die in Spanish floods

Eight people were killed and hundreds evacuated after flash floods caused by torrential rain swept through the southern Spanish…

Eight people were killed and hundreds evacuated after flash floods caused by torrential rain swept through the southern Spanish regions of Andalucia and Murcia.

Roads were closed, and some public transport was disrupted after heavy rains that started early yesterday, flooding streets and homes after months of drought.

Four of the victims were in the coastal provinces of Malaga and Almeria, which are both popular tourist destinations.

A tornado has also swept through a fairground in a Spanish town, knocking down a ferris wheel and injuring 35 people.

Last night’s tornado damaged several rides and cut electricity in the temporary fair set up in the main square of Gandia, according to its town hall website. It says 15 of the injured were seriously hurt.

Local media reported the fair was closed to the public at the time of a thunderstorm and that all the injured were fair workers.

Just inland from the coastal town, three more victims of Friday’s flash floods were found overnight. They included a woman in the town of Lorca, which was badly damaged by an earthquake last year.

Agencies

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