On Friday, September 18, Antonio Sanz, Andalusia’s first vice-president and regional minister for the Presidency, Health and Emergencies, deactivated the regional Flood Risk Emergency Plan at 8:28 p.m. The plan had been operating in the pre-emergency phase, operational situation 0. It was deactivated after all adverse-rainfall weather alerts in the region had ended and no further incidents were reported. The episode had a very limited impact.
Andalusia’s 1-1-2 Emergency Coordination Centre handled 24 emergencies: nine in Almería, eight in Granada and seven in Málaga. Most occurred on Thursday, September 17.
The regional government activated the plan for Almería province at 9 p.m. on Wednesday, September 16, at emergency phase, operational situation 1, to strengthen coordination and prepare protective measures in response to alerts for rain and storms. At 10:20 p.m., an ES-Alert message with self-protection advice was sent to mobile phones in the Levante Almeriense area. In-person classes were suspended in Pulpí, Huércal-Overa and Cuevas del Almanzora, and parks and gardens were closed as a precaution. Municipal civil-protection emergency plans were activated in Cuevas del Almanzora, Pulpí, Níjar and Huércal-Overa; Armuña de Almanzora also activated its local response structure.
At 9:33 p.m. on Thursday, September 17, the emergency director lowered the plan to the pre-emergency phase, operational situation 0. It remained active in Almería and was extended to Jaén, Granada and Málaga to monitor the episode and coordinate services in response to forecast alerts. After all rainfall alerts ended and conditions returned to normal, the plan was deactivated on Friday.
Of the 24 emergencies coordinated by 1-1-2, 17 were related to natural hazards, two to traffic incidents, two to other categories, one to a rescue, one to a disruption to basic services and one to a road accident.
In Almería, reports from Armuña de Almanzora, Cantoria, Cuevas del Almanzora, Macael, Pulpí, Vélez-Blanco and Vélez-Rubio involved rocks and water on roads, a rambla overflowing, localized flooding, and an unoccupied vehicle swept away by the current. The AL-8106 road, closed between kilometre markers 1.9 and 1.95 in Cuevas del Almanzora, reopened at 6:57 p.m. on Thursday.
In Granada, incidents in Albolote, Atarfe, Baza, Güevéjar and Padul included heavy hail on the A-92N, flooded roads, a home and a business, a canal overflowing beside a cave dwelling, and a lightning-caused forest fire that was extinguished. The most serious incident was a collision between two vehicles in Albolote; three people were injured and taken to hospital. In Málaga, reports were concentrated in Archidona, where roads were flooded and a vehicle became stuck in an area with standing water. Jaén and Córdoba reported no incidents associated with the episode.