Spain swamped by floods as two-hour rain deluge leaves drivers trapped and streets underwater as emergency declared
THIS is the moment a major Spanish city was pummelled by a torrential downpour, causing floods that have brought the place to a near standstill.
The heavy rain battered Valladolid on Tuesday, leading to jaw-dropping scenes as residents tried to battle the elements.
Streets quickly flooded with water throughout the city, causing chaos among motorists.
Within the space of just one hour between 7pm and 8pm, emergency services got more than 200 calls, local media has reported.
The scale of the flooding has seen the city placed under a state of emergency by Spanish authorities.
Cars were gridlocked as the rain came pouring down, cascading over the side of a bridge into a powerful looking waterfall.
Tunnels became fully flooded, with one car even getting trapped inside, Castilla y León Emergency Services told local media.
One viral clip shows the extreme lengths some motorists were forced to go to as the water made driving impossible.
Some residents were seen nearly waist-deep in water trying to push their vehicles through the relentless downpour.
Elsewhere, public transport passengers were no more insulated from the shocking weather.
Residents were forced to uncomfortably wade through the flooded streets to board the bus.
Shopkeepers throughout Valladolid were spotted hard at work to stop their stores from being overwhelmed by the floods.
They can be seen rolling up their sleeves and grabbing buckets to try and stem the flooding at their shops.
But other residents didn’t let the poor weather stop them having a good time.
One clip shows two men sat on reclining chairs in the middle of the road, enjoying a bottle of beer and seemingly oblivious to the elements.
While no injuries have been reported as a result of the flooding, the freak weather has put emergency responders on high alert.
As much as 16 square litres of rain per square metre has battered the Spanish city, local media has reported.
It comes just weeks after another popular Spanish spot was pounded by the elements.
Towns across the Valencia region were hit by a ghastly storm last month that made some areas look almost arctic.
Footage shared across social media showed pounding hail and gushing rainwater surging through the region’s towns.
White hailstones coated themselves along the streets, rendering several towns almost empty outdoors.
Cars left on the streets were covered in thick layers of hail.
Spain was also hit by a massive blackout that affected most of the country – as well as neighbouring Portugal – on April 28.
It saw airports and hospitals shut down and trains brought to a halt across the Iberian peninsula.
Officials blamed a “rare atmospheric phenomenon” for the incident.