A shellshocked resident of Madrid has asked Brits “how they cope” with frequent wet weather after weeks of unusually heavy rainfall across Spain. Storm Martinho has battered the nation over the last few weeks, with the heaviest showers falling in Galicia, Extremadura, Madrid, parts of Toledo, and the Pyrenees.
The Madrid local took to social platform Reddit to vent about the awful recent weather. They said that people in the Spanish capital are “losing their minds”.
The poster, called PaTrirar2023, said in the Ask UK forum: “That. The rainiest March that we have on records. I kid you not it has been raining everyday for a whole month. People here are losing their minds. I am losing my mind.
“It seems it will still rain next week. I cannot. I just cannot. Please, how the f**k do you stand it? We will send you advice the next time it’s over 30°C over there.”
The post has since attracted a number of comments from Brits offering advice and reassurance to the distressed Spaniard. FletchLives99 said: “Go outside when it’s raining less. Have a good raincoat which means you can walk in the rain. Shrug and watch a lot of TV. Say, ‘well, it’s good for the garden’.”
Helpful_Librarian_87 added: “Think of the water table. And how lush everything will look when spring does arrive.”
Nice_Back_9977 wrote: “We’re just used to it. We actually start to miss it when it doesn’t rain for a few weeks, we like the green we get as a result of all the rain.”
It comes after Spain has experienced one of the wettest Marches on record. At least three people were killed by a storm in Andalusia, while hundreds of people were evacuated across Malaga, Marbella and Sevilla due to flooding.
Meanwhile, authorities were forced to open a dam in Madrid ahead of the battering from Storm Martinho. The Manzanares River saw its water flow double as authorities at the El Pardo dam increased discharges from 14 to 30 cubic meters per second. At its peak, up to 60,000 litres per second were released in a desperate attempt to control water levels.
Last week, the water level of the river rose so high that the City Council prohibited access to the exposed riverbanks, from Mingorrubio to the Puente de los Franceses. Madrid City Council warned: “There are riverbanks that are dangerous for pedestrians.”
Policía Municipal de Madrid also urged locals to not “approach the river area or pedestrian paths”. Shocked locals said they had never seen the river level so high.
One said: “Normally, there is a trickle of water passing under the central arch of the bridge. It’s spectacular to see it like this with the entire riverbed full.”
Major parks and sports complexes were also closed in Madrid due to the flooding. Local police, forest rangers and an army unit were deployed to monitor the worst-affected areas.
In the northern Iberian Peninsula, wind speeds hit 100 km/h (62mph) at the end of last week. There was also significant rainfall and flooding across the Central System and western Andalusia.
Winds of force eight hit some coastal areas, with eaves of five to seven metres. Gusts of 68mph also hit areas as orange wind warnings were issued.
Heavy rains also brought in yellow warnings with accumulated precipitation of 20 millimetres in one hour, or 40 millimetres in 12 hours.