Man dies in deadly floods in Northern Spain

By Alyssa McMurtry
OVIEDO, SPAIN- The lifeless body of a driver was discovered as devastating floods hit the Northern Spanish region of Navarra, local authorities said on Tuesday.

The body was found some 50 kilometers southeast of Pamplona, which is currently hosting the famous annual Running of Bulls festival.

The floods were due to heavy rain that began Monday night – up to 30 liters per square meter per hour – which caused rivers to dramatically overflow. Towns were left isolated, buildings were flooded, and highways were swept away.

“I wasn’t aware of any warning or forecast that we could have rains as heavy as we did,” the mayor of Tafalla, which was seriously affected by the storm, told a press conference.

In Pamplona, the city that welcomes over a million visitors per year for the San Fermin festival, the heavy rains on Monday caused the first cancellation of a bull run in 20 years.

The rains in the region have mostly come to an end but, according to state meteorologists, places in the Northeast of Spain including Barcelona are at risk of heavy rainfall throughout Tuesday.