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Third person dies, two airports closed as torrential rains hit southern Spain

A view shows the overflowing Segura river as torrential rains hit Orihuela, near Murcia, Spain, September 13, 2019. | REUTERS/Jon Nazca

| Orihuela |

A third person has died in a second day of torrential rains in southern Spain where two airports, local train networks and dozens of roads are closed today.

Heavy rainfall in the regions of Valencia and Murcia swept away cars and debris and forced the evacuation of hundreds of people, including from flooded highways.

Almeria and Murcia's airport were closed, Spanish airport operator Aena said, and tourists were also left stranded in Alicante airport.

"We've been in the queue here four or five hours, it's very difficult to get to the toilet, impossible to get anything to eat," Haydn Harding, a 78-year old diabetic tourist from Northern Ireland, said at Alicante's airport.

The man who died in the Andalusian city of Almeria today had tried to go through a tunnel by car, rescue services said. Two siblings died yesterday when torrential rain swept away their car.

Although the weather seemed to be stabilising, several of the southeastern regions remain on red alert and rivers like Segura, which already flooded the town of Orihuela in Alicante, were still at risk of overflowing in the city Murcia, the local water management authority said.

Authorities recommend citizens stay at home in the affected areas and avoid using their cars.

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