Scooter going at over 100 kph. Credit: FsQ

Emergency services upgrade inland Almeria and northern Malaga as storms goes on into Thursday night

Andalucia’s emergency agency has raised the rain warning to orange, the level reserved for “significant danger”, across the Valle del Almanzora and Los Velez in Almeria, and the Antequera district of Malaga.

The upgrade, issued by EMA 112 Andalucia on Thursday afternoon, September 17, was in force from 8pm. It is a clear step up from the yellow alerts that covered those inland districts earlier in the day, while the heaviest official thresholds stayed focused on Almeria’s Levante.

🟠AMPLIADO a NARANJA -peligro importante- el aviso por lluvias 🌧️ en las comarcas del Valle del Almanzora y Los Vélez, #Almería y Antequera, #Málaga

⌚️Hasta las 20:00 horas

☎️En caso de emergencia, 1⃣1⃣2⃣ pic.twitter.com/tV7tSdeowg

— EMA 112 (@E112Andalucia) September 17, 2026

For residents, second-home owners and anyone using the inland corridors between the Costa de Almeria and northern Malaga, that change matters. Orange is not a red-alert emergency, but it does mean conditions can turn quickly: intense downpours, flooded roads, overflowing ramblas and sudden hail.

What has changed

AEMET had already placed much of eastern Andalucia under rain and thunderstorm warnings on Thursday. The highest early alert sat over the Levante Almeriense, with orange-level totals of up to 50 litres per square metre in one hour and 100 litres in 12 hours, and hail possible.

Inland, Valle del Almanzora, Los Velez and Antequera started the day on yellow, typically around 15 litres in an hour. By evening, 112 Andalucia amplified the warning for those three districts to orange, citing important danger from rain until 8pm.

That is the story away from the beach. Mountain valleys and dry riverbeds in Almanzora and Los Vélez can go from empty to impassable in minutes. Antequera sits on the A-92 between Málaga and Granada, exactly the sort of route where drivers underestimate standing water.

#Tormenta en #Archidona #Málaga #Andalucía #lluvia #granizo esta tarde de jueves @Storm_Malaga @tiempobrasero @lasextameteo @Eltiempoalsur @ecazatormentas @canalsur @L4EAntequera @ElSoldAntequera @ArchidonaMeteo @ElTiempoes@Andalmet @AEMET_Andalucia @AEMET_Esp #Málaga pic.twitter.com/LrhN9ZvRF6

— LOURDES ESPEJO ESCOBAR (@PAPELERIALAQUIN) September 17, 2026

Why orange is a serious step

AEMET’s colour scale is meant for the public. Yellow means be aware. Orange means significant danger: disruption is likely, and plans should change. Red is reserved for extraordinary risk.

Authorities in Andalucía had already activated flood-plan measures in parts of Almeria, sent ES-Alert messages to mobiles in the highest-risk Levante towns, and suspended face-to-face classes in Pulpí, Huércal-Overa and Cuevas del Almanzora. Road cuts and rockfalls were reported on local highways around Cuevas del Almanzora earlier in the day.

Even if your town was not among those school closures, an orange rain warning in a valley or inland basin is a signal to treat every dipped road, ford and rambla as a hazard.

Advice from 112 Andalucía

The graphic with the upgraded alert repeated three rules that save lives in Mediterranean flash-flood weather:

• Avoid unnecessary journeys by road.
• Never drive or walk through flooded stretches — the water is often deeper and faster than it looks.
• Leave the vehicle if water rises above the wheel axle. Do not wait for the engine to stall in the current.

If you need help, call 112. Do not treat social media as a substitute for the emergency line.

What residents and visitors should do now

Tormenta sobre la comarca de #Antequera captada desde el Valle del #Guadalhorce.

📸 @Storm_Malaga pic.twitter.com/5GQRERFh8D

— Storm Málaga (@Storm_Malaga) September 17, 2026

Stay off secondary mountain roads after dark if showers are still falling. Check local municipal channels before leaving Velez-Rubio, Velez-Blanco, Almanzora valley towns or Antequera. Keep cars off dry riverbeds and low car parks. Clear drains if you live on a slope. If guests are unused to Spanish storm weather, tell them ramblas are not shortcuts.

Further yellow rain and storm warnings remain possible on Friday in parts of Almeria and Granada, including Almanzora and Los Velez again in the afternoon. The pattern is typical of a late-summer trough: cells form inland, dump hard, then move on. The danger is intensity in a short window, not a day-long washout.

This is not a reason to panic. It is a reason be careful.