Girona, Catalonia, Spain – Video recorded by journalist and protocol specialist Carmina Solano Badia shows the Riu Ter running swollen and violent as it passes beneath the Pont de l’Aigua at Pont Major on the morning of January 20, 2026.

The short handheld footage captures the historic stone arch bridge, built from beige and pink-toned sandstone, stretching across fast-moving, muddy brown floodwater. Multiple rounded arches, decorative balustrades, and small alcoves in the stone piers stand above a river transformed by heavy rainfall from Storm Harry.

The Ter appears dramatically higher than normal, churning with foam, swirling eddies, and debris. Waves and splashes strike the stone supports as the current surges close to the lower sections of the arches.

Bare winter trees with leafless branches frame the foreground and midground on both sides of the river. Some dried leaves still cling to the branches, which hang partially over the riverbank. The water surface is opaque with sediment and turbulence, circling around submerged vegetation or debris near the edges.

No people, vehicles, or visible structural damage appear in the frame. However, the elevated water level and powerful flow clearly signal flood danger. The bridge remains standing as the river races beneath it, threatening nearby low-lying areas.

The scene unfolds under gray, overcast skies, reinforcing the severity of the weather affecting Catalonia. The footage documents peak river conditions in the Girona area on January 20, 2026, after Storm Harry delivered more than 100 to 200 millimeters of rain over 24 to 48 hours across northeastern Catalonia.

During the event, the Ter, along with the Onyar and Daro rivers, exceeded danger thresholds, prompting emergency alerts, suspensions of schools and sports activities, road closures, business shutdowns near rivers, evacuations or precautionary moves to higher floors in Girona, and a search for a missing person after a car was swept away in Palau-sator. Authorities urged residents to avoid river areas and unnecessary travel, while high-speed rail service on the Girona-Figueres line was halted due to water on the tracks. Although no catastrophic overflow occurred at this bridge, the extreme flow posed clear risks to infrastructure and surrounding zones.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download