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Spain closed schools and evacuated residents as heavy rain lashed the country on Wednesday, two weeks after the worst floods in a generation killed more than 200 people.

The National Meteorological Office AEMET has placed the southern province of Malaga and the northeastern region of Catalonia on red alert — the highest level — for heavy rains expected to last until Friday.

It is estimated that up to 180 millimeters (7 inches) of rain could fall there in just 12 hours under a red alert.

Less severe rain is also expected in the flood-hit eastern Valencia region, but local officials have warned that because sewage systems are clogged with mud, they may struggle to cope.

The October 29 storm killed 223 people, mostly in the Valencia region, destroyed infrastructure, flattened buildings and submerged fields. The final bill is expected to reach tens of billions of euros.

“There is nothing to lose now,” Carlos Molto, a resident of the Picanya suburb in the city of Valencia, told local TV station A Punt.

Parts of the town of Paiporta, one of the worst-hit sites, were flooded again after a titanic clean-up effort, according to local newspaper Las Provincias.

Many people barricaded their homes with boards or sandbags to try to protect them from fresh floods.

The rain also meant schools and universities closed in large parts of Valencia, the southern region of Andalusia and Catalonia.

Malaga City Hall said it ordered the evacuation of houses located on the banks of the local Campanillas river due to the risk of flooding.

The start of the Billie Jean King Cup tennis final between Spain and Poland in the southern city was also postponed on Wednesday.

The regional governments of Andalusia and Catalonia sent emergency alerts to cellphones warning people to be cautious.

Critics have questioned the effectiveness of the Valencia region’s alert system during October’s rain, which in some cases reached residents’ phones only when floodwaters were already gushing through cities.

Outrage at authorities over their mismanagement before and after the floods sparked mass protests on Saturday. The largest, in the city of Valencia, attracted 130,000 people.

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