Severe storms brings destruction to Ibiza and northeast Spain

One person has died and several people have been injured after severe storms devastated parts of Spain, including popular holiday destination Ibiza.

The storms swept across Catalonia and the Balearic Islands and has also caused flash flooding in parts of northeast Spain.

One person died after being swept away in his car by flash flooding in Rierad’Arenys de Munt, which was hit by the storm on Wednesday morning.

Emergency services said they are looking for a missing mother and son.

At least three people were injured in San Antonio, after they took shelter from the storms in a hut that was then ripped from the ground by vicious winds.

Many reported that the heavy rain and buffeting winds in Ibiza was a tornado.

The Met Office could not say for certain that it was, but added that atmospheric conditions were conducive for one to form.

The storms have hit during half-term holidays, affecting many UK holidaymakers.

Sophie Kelly, who is on holiday in Ibiza with her son Riley, said the storm struck quickly, “snapping trees in two” and causing heavy flooding.

“The storm was brewing for about an hour, then it went very dark and the rain started, then the wind,” she told the PA news agency.

“The full force of it only lasted about four minutes maximum.

“That’s why I assumed it was a tornado, plus the way the trees are snapped in a narrow strip.”

Ms Kelly, from Newquay, Cornwall, said lightning continued during Tuesday night and was accompanied by power cuts throughout the evening.

She said many people were now leaving the hotel she is staying at, where staff used chainsaws to cut up fallen trees on Wednesday morning.

Peter Nixon, 56, lives in Altea on the Spanish mainland to the west of Ibiza, and watched the storm rolling over the area from afar.

“The storms are known locally as the Goto Fria and signify a change in the weather from summer to winter,” he told PA.

The Met Office said the storms are expected to continue this week, moving east across the Mediterranean and bringing very heavy showers, hail and thunderstorms, with up to 8in (200mm) of rain expected in some areas.