Crane removes from the Besòs the car that had been stuck for 26 days

In just 24 hours, the flow of the Besòs rose from 2.6 to 936 cubic metres per second. The surge from the storm on 3 and 4 October nearly caused the river to overflow into the streets and swept a car onto a bank in Sant Adrià.

A crane removed it on a Friday morning, after the vehicle had been stuck next to the riverbed for 26 days.

A car body that withstood other floods

When the water receded, Mossos d'Esquadra and the Fire Brigade inspected the car, with divers from the emergency services among the team. They confirmed that no one was trapped inside and the police located the owner, who was unharmed.

The car was left overturned on a stony strip. Smaller floods on the 5th and during the night of 17 to 18 October were not enough to move it. During those weeks, the scene attracted onlookers and locals who were walking or exercising in the riverside park; some went down to the bank to see it up close and take photos.

The crane turned the car over and lifted it to load it and take it to the scrapyard. The operation revealed the damage to the vehicle, still covered in mud and with reeds and debris inside.

The Rodalies bridge was also cleared

The ACA had planned to remove debris and repair damage to the final stretch of the Besòs to clear the riverbed and restore its drainage capacity in case of another rise in water levels. Adif also carried out work to remove logs and undergrowth from the lower part of the bridge crossed by the R1 y RG1 de Rodalies lines.

That bridge is considered a weak point due to its low height and the risk that debris could block it during an exceptional flood. Elsewhere by the water, waste collection on Barcelona’s beaches was halved, according to the beaches’ report.