Moment man saves elderly woman from being swept away in Malaga floods

This is the moment a heroic man saves an elderly woman from being swept away in the devastating floods that have plunged Malaga underwater. 

Malaga is currently being buffeted by severe weather, forcing over 4,000 people to be evacuated from the area. 

Video captured in the tourist hotspot shows a man wading through rushing, knee-high water towards a petrified elderly woman who is stuck next to a Repsol petrol station. 

The elderly woman, who can be seen holding a small blue umbrella, was only able to make small steps through the water as it rushed by her legs. 

After speaking to her for a few seconds, the heroic man could be seen lifting her up and carrying her away. 

It comes as fresh storms in Spain have caused school closures and train cancellations, two weeks after flash floods in the Valencia region killed more than 220 people and destroyed thousands of homes.

Coastal areas of Valencia were placed under the highest alert on Wednesday evening, with forecasters warning up to 7in of rain could fall there within five hours.

Clean-up efforts in parts of Valencia hardest hit by the October 29 storm are continuing, and there are concerns over what more rain could bring to streets still covered with mud and debris.

In southern Malaga province, streets were flooded while 3,000 people near the Guadalhorce river were moved from their homes as a preventative measure.

Ester Espinosa, a 47-year-old resident of Malaga's Campanillas suburb, told AFP residents were erecting a barricade to fend off the water.

'It hasn't been exaggerated at all,' added Ida Maria Ledesma Martin, a 39-year-old social educator who said police had warned residents that morning.

Schools across the province were closed, along with many stores. Train services were cancelled between Malaga and Madrid, and between Barcelona and Valencia.

Valencia's regional government also restricted the use of private vehicles until Thursday in areas hit by the October storm, when tsunami-like floods caused cars to be washed away.

There were no reports of deaths due to the new storms.

Spanish weather forecaster AEMET put Malaga on red alert, saying up to 70mm (3in) of rain had accumulated in an hour. Parts of Tarragona province in the east also faced heavy rain and remained under red alert.

The forecast in Malaga delayed the start of the Billie Jean King Cup tennis finals between Spain and Poland, which was set for Wednesday.

The storm system affecting Spain is caused by warm air that collides with stagnant cold air and forms powerful rain clouds. 

Experts say that drought and flood cycles are increasing with climate change.

The October 29 disaster killed 224 people - almost all in the Valencia region - as well as destroying homes, businesses and infrastructure.

The swift evacuations in and around the southern city of Malaga on Wednesday 'likely saved many lives', said Jess Neumann, a hydrology professor at Britain's University of Reading.