Heavy rains hit Spain for third consecutive week, hundreds evacuated

MADRID (Reuters) - Heavy rains hit Spain for a third week in a row on Tuesday, with at least two people missing and hundreds evacuated in the southern region of Andalusia, where several rivers had overflowed, or were at risk of doing so.

Spaniards are still on edge after torrential rains four months ago in the eastern Valencia region led to the country's deadliest natural disaster in decades. Many blamed local and national officials for being too late in sending emergency alerts.

The regional leader of Andalusia, Juan Manuel Moreno, urged citizens to exercise extreme caution on Tuesday.

"Please be very careful, even if the rain eases. Crossing a stream is highly dangerous," Moreno said after two people went missing in the regional capital, Seville.

Authorities believe the couple tried to cross a ravine and may have been swept away. Their empty car was found overturned nearby.

Andalusian authorities said a total of 368 families were evacuated as a preventive measure in the province of Malaga. In one of the towns, Cartama, around 20 people and their pets were rescued from their flooded homes.

In Aguilas, a coastal Mediterranean town in Murcia, emergency services rescued nine people who were trapped inside their cars in a ravine. The occupants of several boats were also helped to safety in the same area.

The unusual string of back-to-back storms has helped the country - whose generally sunny weather is a major draw for tourists - put an end to a long-term drought, with many dams now having water released to prevent them from overflowing.

After two weeks of rains, Spanish reservoirs are at 65.6% of their capacity, above the 10-year-average, with a 5% increase in the last week alone.

One British resident, Vernon, wrote on X that he had been bailing out his Spanish neighbours with a bucket.

"Nobody here, including older residents, have ever known it rain 19 days out of the last 20. Torrential, relentless. All night," he wrote.

(Reporting by Emma Pinedo; Editing by Sharon Singleton and Aislinn Laing)