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The photo shows the Guadalhorce river as it passes over the iron bridge in the town of Cártama. Ñito Salas | Vídeo: Salvador Salas y Pedro J. Quero Emergencies Storm Francis leaves more than 200mm of rainfall in Guadalhorce Valley and Costa del Sol during red weather warningIt rained most on Sunday in Coín, Cártama and Estepona, as the red alert rang on residents' mobile phones across the Costa del Sol and Guadalhorce
Monday, 5 January 2026, 10:48
The piercing beep of the emergency red alert emitted by mobile phones at 2.41pm and 200mm of rainfall: these were the two things Malaga province residents will remember from the first Sunday of 2026, when storm Francis swept through the Guadalhorce Valley and the Costa del Sol.
The regional government of Andalucía activated the red alert to warn people of the high risk in the early afternoon on 4 January. The weather had already kept residents in Cártama awake through the night. During the day, they watched how the Guadalhorce river was accumulating more and more water, threatening to overflow. Fortunately, that did not happen, but the regional government had prepared sports centres and other housing alternatives in case people had to be evacuated from their homes. Shops, hotels, museums and theatres in Malaga city closed after the red alert was activated, while line 2 of the metro was suspended and the public bus connections to Campanillas were cut.
Storm Francis had already made its presence felt in Estepona the previous day. According to state meteorological agency Aemet, it had left more than 30mm by the early hours of the morning. Residents in the area of Las Mesas reported flooding in doorways, communal areas, lifts and garages.
Civil protection also activated the emergency services in Casares and Benahavís, among other municipalities. In Manilva, the river overflowed late in the afternoon. There were also road closures on the MA-5401, which connects El Burgo with Casarabonela, and the MA-8302, in Genalguacil. In the late afternoon, the Guadiaro river in Casares was on the verge of overflowing.
Coín, where heavy rainfall was recorded during the night, also experienced this complex situation. More than 40mm had accumulated by late Sunday afternoon. The rainfall was also very heavy in Fuengirola, Mijas and Benalmádena, leaving some streets, garages and ground floors flooded.
Numerous incidents
The fire brigade were active throughout the day. In the Fuengirola river park, the water level even exceeded the access stairs. In Mijas, the town hall set up the Costa del Sol racecourse as a temporary shelter for animals at risk. Mijas firefighters had carried out ten interventions by 4pm, three of them due to falling trees that posed a risk to traffic, four due to falling elements or the risk of them falling and one due to the detachment of part of the roof of a house in Las Lagunas.
The data provided by the Hidrosur network late on Sunday reveals the intensity of the rainfall. At 8pm, the Grande river had accumulated 190mm and more than 180mm were recorded in Casarabonela; about 150mm in Ojén; more than 120mm in Guadalmansa. The Genal river accumulated more than 130mm. Las Golondrinas also accumulated more than 110mm.
This is only some of the data provided by official records. Rainfall of well over 200mm was recorded in some parts of the province, clear evidence of a storm system that left its mark in different ways, all sharing the same common denominator: water and more water.
Tension
The worst share was once again borne by Cártama. With hardly any time to recover from the floods of 27 December, the Guadalhorce river threatened the local population. Shortly after midnight on Monday, mayor Jorge Gallardo told SUR that the riverbed "is at its limit".
In just a few hours, its level at the bridge had doubled and risen to over four metres, taking into account that there is more rain to come. The iron bridge at Estación de Cártama was closed at 6pm on Sunday.
The authorities asked residents to avoid the spread of false alarms and warned of hoaxes that were circulating on social media, where people were already talking about an overflow of the Guadalhorce river, even though that had not happened at the time.
Three families were evacuated in the area of La Dehesa late in the afternoon on Sunday. They sought shelter with other family members.
Aemet maintained the red alert until 11.59pm. Shortly after midnight on 5 January, the river had not overflowed and the rainfall had decreased in intensity around 10pm on Sunday, although Protección Civil emitted another alert through mobile phones around 10.23pm. On this occasion, it was only a reminder to the public about the precautions to be taken into account, especially in flood-prone areas.
The forecasts for Monday, coinciding with the Three Kings' parade, warn of more rain. Official sources from Malaga city council told SUR that they will take a decision on a possible suspension of the parade ('cabalgata') over the course of the day.
Regional minister of health, presidency and emergencies Antonio Sanz made a press appearance at 7.30pm on Sunday. He confirmed that the emergency services had attended to more than 120 incidents reported in the province of Malaga by that moment. Most of them were related to floodings of homes, streets and roads. He reminded the population that the red alert signifies "extreme risk".
Representative of the central government in Malaga Javier Salas participated in the meeting of the advisory committee of the emergency plan for flood risk in Andalucía, where he reminded the attendees that the military emergency unit (Ume) is available to act if the situation requires it.
Aemet is forecasting another rainy day for Malaga this Monday. The risk of rainfall in the provincial capital between 12pm and 6pm is 100%. The rains are expected to disappear from Tuesday onwards and clear skies will return to the forefront. Temperatures will reach a maximum of 12C.