Coastal areas of Valencia were placed under the highest alert on Wednesday evening, with up to 7 inches of rain in the forecast.

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.

Spain’s King Felipe and Queen Letizia were pelted with mud by crowds during their visit to the region last week, as anger fermented among communities who said they felt abandoned by authorities in the wake of the natural disaster, with troops and police deployed to assist communities in affected areas.