Nearly 500 families were forced from their homes as Spain braced for more heavy flooding on the southern coast this week.
Hundreds of residents across Cadiz fled overflowing rivers as Storm Francis brought torrential rainfall to the Costa del Sol.
Dozens of people were also taken to emergency shelters in Malaga’s Estación de Cartama on Sunday as the Guadalhorce river swelled, just days after two people were killed in nearby floods.
Dramatic footage shared on social media showed cars swamped in dirty floodwater and water cascading through floors of an apartment block.
Clara Maria Moya, who had to stay at an emergency shelter on Sunday night, told local outlet Malaga Hoy: “The choice came down to leaving or drowning outright.”
“My house has a meter and a half of water inside,” she added. “We need help … My house is destroyed”
A resident of Estacion de Cartama cleans up after flooding hit Malaga, on 28 December (EPA)
Residents received an “extraordinary risk” red alert on their phones on Sunday, warning against unnecessary travel as overflowing rivers toppled a wall in the town of Monda and brought down a bridge in Coin.
Monda and nearby Tolox saw 250 litres of rain per square metre in the space of 24 hours, according to the country’s weather agency, Aemet.
Cadiz, on the southern coast, weathered some of the worst of the flooding as the Guadarranque River filled with rainwater on Sunday.
Some 470 people were evacuated from villages and housing developments in San Roque and Los Barrios, downstream from the river. Authorities said they were allowed to return on Monday as weather warnings were lifted.
The nearby Guadarranque reservoir holding back the floods was at 99.83 per cent capacity on Monday and was on the “verge of overflowing”, El Pais reported, citing regional government sources.
After overcoming the worst of the floods, Malaga was hit by hailstorms on Monday afternoon. More than 30 roads nationwide continued to be affected by snowfall, closing routes from Barcelona in the northeast to Toledo and Madrid in the centre.
Spain’s weather agency issued renewed warnings for cold weather and snowfall on Tuesday (Aemet)
Aemet on Tuesday issued cold weather warnings, forecasting snow and freezing conditions across the country.
Storm Francis, fuelled by Arctic air from the north, has buffeted Spain with rain and snow across the peninsula for days. Eleven autonomous communities have been placed under snow alerts.
The latest weather devastation comes just days after authorities announced two people had been killed in dramatic flooding through Andalusia.
The body of a man whose van was swept away by an overflowing riverbed in Malaga was recovered on 28 December, as authorities confirmed the death of a young person in Granada who was swept away while trying to cross a riverbed on a motorbike.
In Barcelona, a woman was hospitalised after being hit by a lamp post torn down by 70 km per hour winds. Dozens of people were also forced to evacuate from a building damaged by heavy rainfall.