Spain Flash Floods: Death Toll Rises To Ten

At least 10 people have been killed and hundreds evacuated from their homes after flash floods swept through southern Spain.

After months of drought, torrential rain has flooded streets and homes, brought down a motorway bridge, and swept cars down roads that have been turned into rivers.

The hardest hit areas are the Mediterranean provinces of Malaga in the south and Murcia and Almeria in the southeast.

Regional officials said nine people have died and at least 600 people have been moved from their homes.

Among the dead are a young boy and a girl who were found drowned in a car in the southeastern town of Puerto Lumbreras, according to Spanish National radio.

The body of a woman in the town of Lorca, which was badly damaged by an earthquake last year, has also been discovered.

A 52-year-old British woman is reportedly among those feared missing in Almeria.

A regional government spokesman said: "In Malaga province, there are 800 staff working to return things to normal as quickly as possible. The rains are decreasing and seem to be shifting towards Granada and Almeri."

Up to 245 litres (65 gallons) of water per square metre (11 square feet) fell in the area on Friday morning alone, Spain's weather agency reported.

A flight was diverted to Seville as it headed to Malaga, which lies east of the resort city of Marbella on the Costa del Sol, the airports authority said.

At least two motorways have been closed and some public transport disrupted, officials said.

The flooding comes after months of virtual drought and soaring summer temperatures all over Spain that triggered thousands of wildfires.

Meanwhile, a tornado swept through a fair ground in the main square of Gandia in Valencia, in eastern Spain, on Friday night, knocking down a ferris wheel and injuring 35 workers.

Some 15 of the injured were seriously hurt. The storm damaged several rides and cut electricity to the site, which was closed at the time.