Severe weather alerts have been issued and thousands were evacuated as a powerful storm brought a month’s worth of rain to parts of Spain just weeks after deadly flash floods hit the country. Malaga was hit first by the storm,

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 Malaga area, including the tourist resorts of Marbella, Velez and Estepona, is expected to take the brunt of the extreme weather phenomenon known as a "Dana". Parts of the eastern Valencia area have also been placed on the highest alert, weeks after the area was devastated by flash floods that killed more than 220 people.

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.