Spain is battered by strong winds and heavy rain from Storm Nelson, resulting in four fatalities on the storm-ravaged coasts.

Southern Spain's Easter processions were called off due to heavy rain brought by Storm Nelson, which also caused strong winds and claimed four lives along the storm-hit coasts.

In Seville, major processions on Holy Thursday were canceled due to the rainstorms, although the precipitation was a relief for the region grappling with a severe drought.

The processions of the Nazarenes, famous for their purple, pointed hoods, were also cancelled in Huelva and Cádiz.

In a week-long event that attracts tens of thousands to the city, members of more than 70 brotherhoods and religious guilds parade through Seville’s streets bearing heavy pasos, or floats, depicting Christ’s passion. The pasos can weigh as much as a tonne.

Each procession, which can last up to 12 hours, sets out from one of the more than 100 churches in the city and passes through Seville Cathedral before returning to its starting point.

Visitors who have paid thousands of euros to rent balconies along the route face a disappointing week, with rain forecast in Seville right through to Easter Sunday.

Four people drowned on Thursday as Storm Nelson battered Spain’s coasts, two in Asturias in the north-west and two in the east coast city of Tarragona, where a teenage boy and a man who ran into the sea to save him both drowned.

As Easter marks the beginning of the holiday season, the recent storms have eroded a significant portion of the sand on Barcelona’s beaches, revealing rocks and drains. Meanwhile, smaller beaches along the Maresme, north of the city, have completely vanished.

Historically, efforts to replenish the beaches involved dredging sand from estuaries. However, this approach is now seen as ineffective, as the newly added sand often washes away during the first winter storm.

With some much-needed rain falling over the past few days and more expected over the weekend, there's optimism that the prolonged drought in Catalonia may be ending.

After three years of minimal rainfall, reservoirs have reached up to 16% capacity, the threshold for a state of emergency.

However, Patrícia Plaja, a spokesperson for the Catalan government, emphasized the need for cautious decision-making. She stated that lifting restrictions prematurely would be counterproductive if they had to be reinstated shortly afterward.

Plaja remarked, “It’s one thing to have reserves at 16% in May, as we approach what is anticipated to be a dry summer."