On July XNUMXth there were some floods in Zaragoza as they did not remember even the oldest of the place. All the events planned in the Aragonese city had to be suspended and the damage was extensive.
But, in addition, they were produced in such a way surprising and fast that several people were trapped in their vehicles and had to be rescued by firefighters. So that you know what really happened and what were its causes, we are going to explain everything you need to know about the floods in Zaragoza.
Why did the floods occur?
⛈️The strong storm that has fallen in Zaragoza has caused this river of water and mud in the middle of Z-30, near Parque Venecia.
At the moment, the road is closed. pic.twitter.com/ckZRmSzjPG
– Aragon News (@AragonNoticias_) July 6, 2023
Meteorologists have described the torrential rains in the city of Maña as a historic storm. But, in technical terms, what the inhabitants of the Aragonese town suffered was what is called a severe supercell, a phenomenon as unusual as it causes enormous downpours.
In other words, it is a highly organized storm that includes torrential rain or heavy hail, winds that can become hurricane-force, and even electrical activity. In addition, it usually lasts longer than traditional ones. But why is it formed?
It all starts when a rising air vortex that can be between two and ten kilometers long and that goes up turning continuously. It is what is called mesocyclone and in it converge water and hail that, within the phenomenon, are growing. Eventually, they grow large enough to break out of the vortex and fall to the surface.
These supercells or supercells are formed under circumstances of a lot of instability and strong winds in height. In addition, their internal circulation system is more organized, which is why they last longer than other types of storms. Likewise, they are more dangerous. This is a fairly common phenomenon in the great plains of United States and in other areas such as argentine pampas. On the other hand, they are not as frequent in Spain, although they do occur from time to time in Aragon during this time of year.
How were the floods in Zaragoza?
Very attentive to the terrible floods in Zaragoza. In almost three decades of living there, he had never seen anything like it. The images that come to me make my hair stand on end. I am in shock.
They tell me that, fortunately, this woman was rescued by firefighters. pic.twitter.com/VdvCGzLVYv
– Pablo Echenique (@PabloEchenique) July 6, 2023
As we told you, everything happened on the afternoon of July 18th. Shortly before XNUMX:XNUMX p.m. it began to rain, beginning the a waterspout as the residents of the Aragonese city have rarely seen. They were downloaded in less than an hour. more than fifty liters per square meter with peaks of up to twenty in just ten minutes. It was a storm with torrential rain that crossed the province and was accompanied by winds of almost a hundred kilometers per hour.
In fact, it also caused damage in other locations such as The Burgo de Ebro y Quarter of Huerva, where commercial basements were flooded and eight people from two homes had to be rescued. Even the village of Alcaniz, already in Teruel, suffered serious damage due to the rains. But the really impressive thing about the storm occurred in the city of Zaragoza. In it, the firefighters and the police had to be used fully to help the population.
The effects of flooding in Zaragoza
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Buildings and roads flooded, cars washed away as catastrophic flash floods hit Spain's Zaragoza
U: @soniatwin72#Floods #Storm #Spain #Saragossa #Venice #Flooding #Hail #Torment #FlashFloods #viral #Weather #climate pic.twitter.com/PxOzIzHnbM
— Earth42morrow (@Earth42morrow) July 6, 2023
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The floods in Zaragoza have left us with an iconic image. Its the a woman perched on the roof of her car waiting to be rescued by the security forces. According to the newspaper El País, his name is María and he is from Monreal del Campo, a town in Teruel, although he lives in Zaragoza. In the end, everything ended well, but her situation has left her, of course, traumatized.
He was not the only person who had to be rescued by firefighters. Another video shows us a young man up a tree waiting for the flood that occurred in the streets to subside. Likewise, others had to be rescued from their vehicles. In fact, the most dramatic situations occurred in the Z-30 or third ring road of the city.
| Spain | Massive flooding in Zaragoza | A man has to climb a tree to avoid being swept away by the current of water. pic.twitter.com/r7Wvz4eDWF
— THE GREAT AWAKENING (@destapandolose1) July 7, 2023
There was María with her car and also other drivers like Luis Ramos. He was able to get out of the area by his feet shortly before his car was swept away by the waters. Also in the area of Links people had to be rescued. In total, the firefighters carried out more than seventy services to have the situation more or less under control in around twenty hours.
However, the problems also spread to other areas of the city. For example, in a section of the Navarre Avenue, the current of water moved the cars as if they were toys. And other places that were affected were the Galan Bergua street in the Delicias area, the Renovales and Ruiseñores walks and Madrid Avenue. But, in general terms, no neighborhood in Zaragoza was spared from damage.
The situation after the storm: Damage
A 50-year-old woman in serious condition in the Servet ICU due to flooding in Zaragoza
It counts @RTVEaragon
▶https://t.co/lhWWTJ0DNe pic.twitter.com/19SwW4brBR– RTVE News (@rtvenoticias) July 7, 2023
In view of the turn the situation was taking, shortly after the storm began, the Government of Aragon activated the Special Civil Protection Plan for Flood Risk (PROCINE) with risk one to organize assistance to the population. With such purpose, the Operational Coordination Center.
Likewise, it was soon seen that the damage would be extensive. In the words of Natalia Chueca, mayor of the city, "it has been an extraordinary, torrential and not at all normal rain" that has caused damage "worth millions of euros." However, it will still take a few days until they can assess the magnitude of the damage. As a sample of them, we will tell you that, in the neighborhood of Venice Park, more than four hundred residents were without electricity until Friday afternoon. The company in charge of the supply had to move a huge generator set to the area to restore it. In addition, an operation of two hundred people was in charge of removing the mud from the streets and houses.
Bus Used Surf
It is super effective!#Saragossa pic.twitter.com/uIgfbKJOCh
— The body of crime (@BodyOfCrime) July 6, 2023
Also the city sewer has been clogged due to the materials carried by the storm. And, in general, a good number of the streets of Zaragoza had damage after this atmospheric phenomenon ended. Even had to cut the A23 motorway at kilometer 274 and the trains that make the Zaragoza-Barcelona line were stopped.
In conclusion, the Zaragoza floods have surprised even meteorologists, who did not expect such intensity. The only good thing about them is that there have been no fatalities to be regretted. From here, we encourage the people of Zaragoza to recover their city.