The center of Madrid registered yesterday the absolute record of rain in 24 hours in a series of more than a century, in a day that was marked from the morning by the mobility problems that originated in the capital and its surroundings , in addition to flooding in metro stations or problems in the Commuter service.
As reported by the State Meteorological Agency (Aemet), storm Aline left a rain record. Specifically, Madrid-Retiro recorded 100.1 liters per square meter from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
After that day, the highest rainfall record was recorded on September 21, 1972 with 87 liters per square meter, followed by October 29, 2021, when 67.7 liters were recorded.
In addition, he pointed out that three of the four rainiest days in the capital have been recorded in the last two years.
The heavy rain that fell in the early hours of yesterday afternoon in the Community of Madrid due to the passage of the storm Aline, which forced the activation of the yellow alert in the region, caused cuts in several metro lines of Madrid and in the service of Rodalies Renfe, as well as access roads to the capital, and flooding in streets and hospitals.
The Marqués de Vadillo metro station (line 5), on the other hand, was completely destroyed, and in other stations the water even entered the carriages. In four hospitals in Madrid - Infanta Sofía de San Sebastián de los Reyes, Ramón y Cajal, Infanta Leonor de Vallecas and 12 de Octubre -, the union Commissions Obreres reported water leaks that occurred due to the rain, as well as leaks and the damage recorded in nine health centers.
The Fire Department of the Community of Madrid carried out from 11 a.m. to 3:50 p.m. interventions for problems caused by the heavy rains, none of particular gravity, reported a spokesman for Emergencies 112.
For its part, the Madrid City Council firefighters also intervened in the morning, but none seriously and without injuries, a spokesperson for the capital's Emergencies told Europa Press. Therefore, between 9 am and 4 pm they made more than 100 interventions related to the rain, most of them due to puddles and water damage, branches and damage to facades.
Aline irrigated the center and south of the Peninsula with intense rains that prompted the closure of urban parks in Madrid and Toledo and even caused the roof of a cafe in Talavera de la Reina to collapse, where it does not go to have been injured because workers and customers left the premises when they sensed the collapse.
Regarding the road network, there were complications in all accesses to the capital and in almost all sections of the M-40, which had to be closed to traffic from 5.40 pm due to accumulation of water puddles in the neighborhood of La Fortuna, towards the A-4.
In Cáceres, around 50 students from the Santo Ángel de Montánchez school were evacuated after the center's internal skylight partially collapsed due to strong winds and rain. In Andalusia, Aline caused more than 700 incidents, mainly due to falling branches, trees, street furniture, fences and partial detachments of cornices or facades. In the Straits area, the storm caused the cancellation of almost all scheduled departures on the line between Tarifa (Cádiz) and the Moroccan port of Tangier.
Mobility problems also affected high speed. An incident in railway operations that affected the electrification system of the AVE line that runs between Madrid and Barcelona in the province of Guadalajara forced the suspension of train traffic.
As reported by Adif after 7 p.m., work was still being done to fix the breakdown "as soon as possible". The incident took place specifically on the section between Brihuega and Las Inviernas (Guadalajara) and was resolved at 9 pm, when the service resumed.
The operator and Adif attributed the problem to the rainstorm.
