The towns of Montefrío and Íllora were visited by a cloudburst and flash floods yesterday afternoon; cars were swept down streets chased by rubbish hoppers.

As a result, local roads that link Montefrío to Alcalá la Real, Huétor Tájar and Tocón, as well as the one between Íllora and Alomartes have been closed. Furthermore, country tracks have become impassable along several kilometres.

According to the Mayor of Montefrío, Remedios Gámez, people were panicking when the flash flood came through town owing to the 60 litres per square metre that fell in just 40 minutes.

Things were made worse by the hail that pummelled vehicles, roofs and people caught outside.

Río Milanos broke its banks near the Juncaril bridge, flooding housing in the Venta Conejo area and hailstones blocked drains, making things worse.

The Montefrío Policía Local, Protección Civil, Guardia Civil and the Loja Fire Service worked throughout the afternoon helping families that were cut off by the flood water as well as trying to restore traffic along country lanes where it was possible. At 20.00h, three hours after the cloudburst, they were still hard at it.

Over in Íllora, the Mayor, Antonio Salazar, was also moved by the disaster that had befallen his municipality. Emergency services there put their backs into helping people clear the mud from within their homes. The junior school was also affected. Furthermore the mains water pipe for Tocón has been damaged.

(News: Montefrio/Illora, Poniente de Granada, Andalucia – Photo: Pepe Marín)