This was the damage left behind after a waterspout hit a beach in Torremolinos

At six o'clock on Saturday morning (2 September) residents of Torremolinos were startled by the strong wind that caused a waterspout at sea which later turned into a small tornado when it made landfall. In its wake it left material damage to two sunbed rental business areas on El Bajondillo beach and the Casa Paco chiringuito beach bar.

The president of the Association of Beach Businessmen of the Costa del Sol and Andalucía, Manuel Villafaina, said that everything happened very quickly and at a very specific location, with the good fortune that on this occasion the tornado did not advance further beyond the restaurant. In everyone's mind was the tornado that in November 2014 destroyed the Copacabana beach bar and the promenade, before moving into the town causing many incidents of damage.

On this occasion, the effect of the waterspout was felt most at Casa Paco, where nine doors were damaged and were being repaired by later in the morning. On the beach the scene was one of sunbeds piled up by the strong wind, umbrellas on the ground and the tent for disabled bathers blown away on the sand. The damage was quickly rectified by municipal workers who returned the affected area to normality.

The mayor of Torremolinos, Margarita del Cid, sent a message of calm on her X (Twitter) account, in which she posted an image of the moment when the waterspout occurred. She said that: "The dana has begun to be felt on our beaches. There is only material damage and from first thing in the morning the municipal employees have returned the damage to normal. Although the rains are very welcome, we must be extremely cautious during these hours of alert".

First rainfall

Although no rain fell in Torremolinos, in Malaga city and the Axarquia area, at around the same time, a storm began to gather, accompanied by lightning and thunder, with the first rains that break the streak of 73 days without rainfall in Malaga.

According to local weather expert José Luis Escudero's blog on SUR, it rained the most in the Axarquia region, with between 8 and 25mm . He also reported that a waterspout was recorded on the coast of Torrox, although no major damage was reported.

On Saturday, the data provided by the Junta de Andalucía regional government indicated that 13.4 mm of rain was collected in Benamargosa and 11 and 9.3mm in the Limonero and Viñuela reservoirs, respectively. It also stated that in Alcaucín almost 17mm had been recorded by the time the measurements were taken.

The rain forecast remains in place for early this Sunday morning, with Spain's state weather agency Aemet issuing a yellow 'risk' alert for heavy rain which could be accompanied by thunderstorms across most of the province.