Heavy rains lash Spain after deadly floods

Spain closed schools and evacuated residents as heavy rains lashed the country Wednesday, two weeks after its worst floods in a generation killed more than 200 people.

National weather office AEMET placed the southern province of Malaga and the northeastern Catalonia region on red alert -- the highest level -- for strong rains expected to last until Friday.

It forecasts as much as 180 millimetres (7 inches) of rain could fall there in just 12 hours under a red alert.

Less severe downpours are also expected in the flood-hit eastern Valencia region, but local officials warned that since sewage systems are clogged with mud they could struggle to cope.

The October 29 storm killed 223 people, mostly in the Valencia region, wrecked infrastructure, gutted buildings and submerged fields. The final bill is expected to soar to tens of billions of euros.

"There's nothing to lose now," Carlos Molto, a resident of the Picanya suburb of Valencia city, told local television station A Punt.

- Malaga evacuations -

Parts of the town of Paiporta, one of the worst-hit sites, were once again flooded after a titanic clean-up effort, according to local newspaper Las Provincias.

Many people had barricaded their homes with planks or sandbags to try to protect them from fresh flooding.

The rain also meant schools and universities closed across large parts of Valencia, the southern region of Andalusia and Catalonia.

Malaga city hall said it had ordered the evacuation of houses located on the banks of the local Campanillas River due to the flood risk.

The start of the Billie Jean King Cup tennis finals between Spain and Poland in the southern city was also postponed on Wednesday.

The regional governments of Andalusia and Catalonia sent emergency alerts to mobile phones warning people to be cautious.

Critics have questioned the efficiency of the Valencia region's alert system during October's downpour, when in some cases only reached residents' telephones when floodwater was already gushing through towns.

Outrage at the authorities for their perceived mismanagement before and after the floods triggered mass protests on Saturday. The largest, in the city of Valencia, drew 130,000 people.

al/ds/imm/jj