SPAIN has been battered by more horror floods with streets left submerged after a day of hellish rain.
Dramatic footage shows locals running for cover as a huge storm smashes into Barcelona and the Balearic Islands with several airports shut down due to lightning strikes and high winds.
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Catalan residents were hit with a weather warning urging them all to stay inside and take “extreme precautions” as the worst of the weather approached.
Barcelona firefighters were called out to dozens of emergencies.
At least 16 rescues were carried out after people became trapped in elevators due to electrical failures or flooding.
One building was quickly evacuated amid fears the roof was on the brink of collapse.
The violent storm also caused major disruption at Barcelona‘s El Prat Airport.
At least 47 flights were cancelled, according to local news outlet La Vanguardia.
Delays of up to 90 minutes were being experienced at the airport as of Thursday afternoon.
Several universities in the city were also placed on lockdown to let the storm pass.
Officials placed the city on orange alert and advised locals to avoid travelling as Storm Melissa swept across the Iberian Peninsula.
In Majorca, the fire brigade shared images a toppled pine tree which had collapsed on a building and was blocking the street.
Palma airport suffered dozens of delays with the resort city nearly brought to a standstill due to hail and rain.
Party island Ibiza also faced torrential rain, intense thunderstorms and lightning strikes.
In the northwestern region of Galicia, there were waves of up to 16ft.
Winds also reached upwards of 80 kilometres per hour.
The violent storm is expected to continue throughout the week.
The regions of Andalucia, Galicia, Catalonia and Aragon are all already on high alert.
These bouts of extreme weather have been ongoing for weeks now with shocking footage from the end of October showing an elderly man being hauled out of a car after becoming trapped in a flood.
A rescuer wades through knee-deep water to reach him, lifting the man onto his back and carrying him to safety.
It came just days after Spain mourned the one year anniversary of one of the worst natural disaster in the country’s history.
The devastating Valencia floods killed 237 people and left thousands homeless.





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