An alarm so loud it was “extremely painful to the ears” was sent to thousands of people across the Costa del Sol and other parts of the southern Spanish province on Tuesday night.

British expats living in the region reported being “terrified” after their phones suddenly began emitting a loud ringing sound. 

It came after the state weather agency AEMET issued a red alert for “extreme rainfall” in the region, which is set to begin at 10am on Wednesday, November 13, and last until at least 11.59pm.

“I just got an alert on my phone, it frightened the c**p out of us!” one British expat told The Olive Press. 

“It flashed up like an alarm and made this horrible beeping sound that was painful to the ears.

Another said: “I nearly spilled my tea all over me, the sound was like something out an apocalypse film, but it’s fair to say we are all bl***y aware now.” 

Most of the alerts were sent between 10.35pm and 10.40pm, although many received them as late as 10.55pm.

The alerts are part of the Proteccion Civil force’s new Es-Alert system, which had never before been used in Malaga, until now.

The message was in both Spanish and English, given the large number of Brits and foreigners in the population. 

It read: “Civil alert… Red warning activated (Aemet), extreme risk of rainfall… be very cautious, avoid travel and follow the advice of 112.”

It also offered links for those who wanted to seek more information.

The Spanish state weather agency Aemet has warned that a “surface cyclogenesis”, or cyclone, will arrive in the Mediterranean on Wednesday, bringing with it intense rains. 

Aemet states that heavy rainfall, up to 100mm/m2 falling over a 12-hour period, will significantly risk life.

The new DANA is expected to also bring heavy rain to Valencia and Malaga – the former of which is still reeling from the last deadly DANA storm, which killed more than 200 people.

On Tuesday, Castellon in Valencia, Tarragona and Barcelona in Cataluña were placed on a yellow-level warning for rain, with up to 20mm falling per square metre per hour. 

Meanwhile, the whole of Ibiza and parts of Majorca, including Palma, were placed on a more serious orange alert, with up to 40mm/m2 of rain in an hour.