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IMAGES: Southern Spain hit by worst floods in living memory

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IMAGES: Southern Spain hit by worst floods in living memory
A flooded farm is pictured in Campillos, near Malaga on Sunday. Photo: AFP

Authorities and residents in the Malaga province were facing a huge clean up operation on Monday after torrential rain over the weekend caused the worst flooding in decades.

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Resident clean up in Campillos. Photo: AFP

A firefighter lost his life near Campillos when the fire engine he was in overturned during a rescue mission, he was swept away in the flood torrent and his body was discovered on Sunday.


A crashed fire truck that overturned during rescue operations on a flooded road in Campillos causing a fireman to lose his life. Photo: AFP

Rescue teams across the province were called to dozens of incidents on Sunday as torrential rain caused flash flooding and burst the banks of rivers.

Drone footage shows the devastation caused bu the floods:

The zones most affected were around Bobadilla, Campillos, Teba, Casarabonela and Ardales, as well as the Ronda area and Estepona.

Dramatic footage showed one Civil Guard team air-lifting a trapped resident from a house surrounded by rising flood water in Cortes de la Frontera. 

 

The Spanish weather agency had issued severe weather warnings for storms bringing torrential rain across parts of Andalusia during Saturday night and into Sunday.

Hundreds of residents were forced to abandon their homes amid rising flood water, while others became trapped as roads were swept away.

The government sent in the military to help with the rescue and clean-up operation with more resources deployed on Monday and is poised to declare the province a “disaster zone”.

In the picturesque hill town of Ronda, archaeologists were called in to assess damage to medieval Arabic baths, build by the Moors in the 13th century, after the walls were washed away in the floods. It was said to be one of the best-preserved hammams on the Iberian Peninsula.

The moment the walls were washed away and cypress trees uprooted were captured on camera: 

 

On Monday, schools remain closed in Estepona, Campillos, Benaoján and Bobadilla.

Authorities said they were making it a priority to mend the damage caused by the floods and open up the roads.

This map shows the roads which remain closed:

 

READ ALSO: Body of young boy brings death toll of Mallorca floods to 13 

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