The swollen Benamargosa river in the region of Malaga swept dozens of cars away on Wednesday as heavy rain caused havoc in southern and eastern Spain. Emergency services in Malaga have moved 3,000 people from homes at high risk of flooding near the Guadalhorce River west of the city,

The famous Costa del Sol including the tourist resorts of Marbella and Estepona has faced the brunt of the extreme weather phenomenon known as a DANA, a cold drop which was the cause of the catastrophic flash floods which killed more than 200 people in and around the east coast city of Valencia alone.

On Thursday, parts of Spain were braced for even more flooding after orange alerts were issued for southern Granada and Valencia's coastal area, where between 40-120mm of rain were projected to fall. Winds of up to 74mph and high seas are predicted for Tarragona, Barcelona and Murcia.