British Tourists And Expats Caught Up In Flash Floods In Spain That Have Killed Ten (PICTURES)

British Tourists And Expats Caught Up In Flash Floods In Spain (PICTURES)

A British woman remains missing amid severe flash floods which have claimed at least 10 lives in southern Spain, authorities said.

The 52-year-old, who has yet to be named, was reported missing in Almeria, a spokeswoman for the regional government of Andalucia said.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office said it was looking into the reports as "a matter of urgency" and liaising with local authorities.

The floods struck in Andalucia and Murcia, with around 600 homes evacuated, roads left in chaos and public transport disrupted.

The provinces of Malaga and Almeria, both popular with tourists, bore the brunt of the freak weather.

An astonishing 65 gallons of water per square metre fell on Friday morning, according to a BBC report that referenced Spain’s weather agency.

The heavy rain followed months of drought, which meant that the ground was too hard to soak up the water.

Jackie Broad, 58, said her home in Mojacar, Almeria, was too high up to be flooded but she had seen cars get washed away by raging torrents of water.

She said: "The river at the bottom of our road has burst its banks. There was a lot of water, in some places up to the roofs of shops and houses.

"The water has run away now but it's left about a foot of mud everywhere. A lot of the roads are closed so we're having trouble getting around."

Those who have died include two children who were found drowned in a car in Puerto Lumbreras in Murcia, Spanish national radio reported, while it said an elderly man was found dead near the town's cemetery.

The heavy rain started on Friday morning throughout Spain and follows months of drought and soaring summer temperatures that helped trigger thousands of wildfires.

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