Heavy rains lash Spain after deadly floods

Spain has closed schools and evacuated residents as heavy rains lashed the country, two weeks after its worst floods in a generation that killed more than 200 people.

National weather office AEMET placed the southern province of Malaga and the northeastern Catalonia region on red alert on Wednesday, the highest level for strong rains expected to last until Friday.

It forecasts as much as 180 millimetres (seven inches) of rain could fall there in just 12 hours under a red alert.

Less severe downpours are also expected in the flood-hit eastern Valencia region, but local officials warned that since sewage systems are clogged with mud they could struggle to cope.

The October 29 storm killed at least 222 people, mostly in the Valencia region, wrecked infrastructure, gutted buildings and submerged fields. The final bill is expected to soar to tens of billions of euros.