A Spanish person aged 74 died after being washed away on Thursday morning in Sant Antoni de Calonge in the province of Girona, north of Barcelona. Firefighters found three more people dead Thursday evening in two vehicles submerged in the flood in Vilanova de la Muga, also in the Girona region.

One of the vehicles contained the bodies of a French couple aged about 70. The second contained a man of North African origin, whose nationality was not immediately known.

Three hundred millimetres (11.8 inches) of rain fell in 24 hours in the worst-hit areas around Girona and Barcelona, causing numerous floods, electricity failures and road closures, as well as the closure of a dozen schools.

Several parts of the Catalan coast were severely flooded. In Barcelona, where 140 millimetres (5.5 inches) of water fell, Sagrera metro station was flooded and temporarily closed.

The mountains in the region of Madrid saw the first snow of the year, despite temperatures of 20 degrees Celsius (68 degrees Fahrenheit) during the day 48 hours earlier.

More rain was forecast Friday across northern Spain, with snow expected at high altitudes.