Southern Spain has been hit by flash floods and freak storms as severe weather battered popular holiday hotspots across the country.
Footage shared online showed huge waterspouts spiralling into the sky while roads were transformed into rivers by torrential rain sweeping across parts of Murcia.
Cars were seen struggling through floodwater as heavy downpours swept across the region.
Residents in La Manga were left stunned after several marine tornadoes appeared offshore during the violent storms.
Witnesses reported seeing at least three waterspouts forming over the sea throughout the morning as unstable conditions moved across the region.
The towering vortexes could be seen stretching from dark storm clouds down towards the Mediterranean as heavy rain lashed nearby towns on Thursday.
The phenomenon, known in Spanish as a 'manga marina', is a rotating column of air that forms over water beneath storm clouds and can generate extremely powerful wind gusts.
Residents in southern Spain were hit by flash floods and freak storms on Thursday as severe weather battered popular holiday hotspots across the country
Footage shared online showed huge waterspouts spiralling into the sky while roads were transformed into rivers by torrential rain sweeping across parts of Murcia
Residents in La Manga were left stunned after several marine tornadoes appeared offshore during the violent storms
Videos showed towering vortexes stretching from dark storm clouds down towards the Mediterranean while heavy rain lashed nearby coastal towns
Pictured: A car struggling to make its way through the floodwater
In some cases, waterspouts are capable of producing winds of up to 250km/h.
The sightings came as Spain's state weather agency Aemet maintained weather warnings across the Campo de Cartagena area until 9pm.
Authorities issued a yellow alert for thunderstorms, warning they could be accompanied by hail and powerful gusts of wind.
An additional orange warning remained in place for torrential rain, with forecasters warning up to 40mm of rainfall could fall within a single hour.
The severe weather forms part of a wider storm system affecting parts of eastern and southern Spain, bringing heavy downpours, electrical storms and rapidly changing conditions after weeks of unusually warm weather.
It comes after Spain issued a rare 'red weather alert' after the popular British holiday hotspot was left battered by a violent storm in December.
Torrential rain hit Spain's Costa del Sol with dramatic footage capturing flooded roads, fallen trees and destroyed vehicles as the region braces for more bad weather.
Spain's national weather bureau issued an unprecedented emergency response overnight after floodwaters reached worrying levels.
Red weather alerts for 'extreme danger' were issued across 27 municipalities in the Malaga region. Emergency services received hundreds of reports.
The Sol and Guadalhorce are among the hardest hit areas, and authorities are urging locals and tourists to not leave their house.
Images and video clips taken from the area showed roads turned into rivers as large, floating mounds of debris-filled mud swept away cars and trees.
Vehicles could also be seen bobbing through the murky waters as the strong currents swirl around them, leaving tourists and locals trapped in their buildings.
Authorities said floodwaters at some places were 'several meters in height'.