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Torrential downpours kill nine in Ukraine's Odesa; Flash floods shut beaches on Spain's Ibiza
Torrential downpours kill nine in Ukraine's Odesa; Flash floods shut beaches on Spain's Ibiza
by AFP Staff Writers
Kyiv, Ukraine (AFP) Oct 1, 2025

A severe rainstorm killed at least nine people in Ukraine's Odesa, emergency services said early on Wednesday.

"In seven hours, Odesa received almost a two-month norm of rainfall. No storm sewer system can withstand such a load," the mayor of Odesa Gennadiy Trukhanov said on Telegram.

"Currently, nine people are known to have died, including one child," the State Emergency Service said in a separate post.

Hundreds of rescuers worked overnight to evacuate people from flooded areas, remove cars and pump water out of buildings.

A total of 362 people have been rescued so far, the service said.

Mayor Trukhanov acknowledged the situation was challenging but said it was "under control".

More bad weather is forecast for tomorrow.

"Work continues without a break -- both day and night," Trukhanov said.

The deadly weather adds to the challenges facing emergency services as Ukraine endures daily attacks by Russia, which controls about 20 percent of its territory three-and-a-half years after Moscow launched its large-scale invasion.

A man died Wednesday morning in a Russian attack on the southern city of Kherson, according to the local military administration.

Six people, including a policeman, were wounded in overnight strikes in the northeast region of Kharkiv, according to the national police.

Beaches shut on Spain's Ibiza as downpours spark floods
Ibiza Town, Spain (AFP) Sept 30, 2025 - Spain's Mediterranean holiday islands of Ibiza and Formentera emerged relatively unscathed from torrential rainfall on Tuesday that triggered floods and prompted the closure of beaches and schools.

The downpours came a day after the eastern Valencia region, where more than 200 people died 11 months ago in Spain's deadliest floods in decades, was also placed under the highest weather alert for rain.

National weather agency AEMET said on X that the "extraordinary" downpours represented the wettest day since at least 1952 in Ibiza, known for its pristine beaches and exuberant nightlife.

In the town of Ibiza, AEMET said a measuring station provisionally recorded 254 litres of rain per square metre in 24 hours -- "more than half of the usual rainfall in a whole year in the area".

Footage on social media showed pedestrians wading through muddy water on an Ibiza beachfront lined with palm trees, bars and restaurants as sirens from emergency vehicles wailed in the background.

Murky brown water also gushed through streets, sweeping away large waste containers and forcing vehicles to advance at a crawl.

The Balearic Islands' regional government reported 179 incidents on Ibiza and six on Formentera, most related to flooding on ground floors, roads, falling trees and urban material, as well as the risk of rivers overflowing.

Regional authorities said three people were lightly injured in a landslip near a hotel but confirmed no serious injuries or deaths.

The Spanish army's emergencies unit deployed with reinforcements from the neighbouring island of Mallorca and the mainland to help pump water from buildings and clear roads, some of which remained cut off.

- Painful memories -

Emergency services on Ibiza and Formentera had sent a mass telephone alert to warn residents, suspending all classes and shutting beaches.

All education centres would remain shut in Ibiza town on Wednesday, the regional authorities announced, saying normality would return on Thursday after a full revision of all school buildings.

AEMET lifted all weather warnings for Ibiza and Formentera by the evening after earlier declaring the highest red alert.

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez expressed his concern on X, urging people to "exercise caution and follow information from official channels".

A red alert on Monday forced schools to shut for more than half a million pupils in the Valencia region, reviving painful memories of last year's floods.

Scientists say human-driven climate change is intensifying extreme weather events such as the heavy rainfall that triggers floods, with a warmer atmosphere capable of holding more water.

Oceans have absorbed 90 percent of the excess heat produced by human activity since the industrial age, according to scientists, causing the Mediterranean Sea to warm rapidly.

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