Horror footage shows the moment a mini-lifts heavy solar roof panels high into the air like paper before they come crashing to the ground.

“My God, Jose, are you seeing this?" an onlooker could be overheard shouting to a pal watching the unfolding drama as bits of a roof including the PV materials fly through the sky, before hitting the terrace cafe of a petrol station in . As they started heading downwards at speed, the witness added: “My God, the petrol station” and a friend in the background is heard talking about calling the police and relatives in the danger area.

A female manager at the Galp petrol station in Cala de Mijas, a popular tourist and expat area near Fuengirola, confirmed around 1pm local time it had been one of the places hit by the as photos emerged of the destruction caused. She said: “Part of it came down on the terrace cafe which would normally have been packed.

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"Miraculously no-one was inside at the time because after what happened in Valencia a fortnight ago, people appear to be heeding warnings and a lot of shops and other businesses are closed today and people are staying at home. We’re expecting to be sent home shortly because the situation is worsening.”

It was not immediately clear if the mini-tornado and the flying debris had caused any other injuries elsewhere in the area. The freak weather phenomenon was preceded by the appearance of a waterspout off the coast of Marbella.

The Costa del Sol has gone into lockdown today amid a red for the area. Thousands of people have been evacuated from their homes in inland areas near the Guadalhorce River a short drive from the coast - with the number of evacuations ramping up today as torrential rain began to fall.

Fears are growing the Campanillas River which links Antequera and Malaga will overflow this afternoon as the weather situation worsens. All municipal bus services were suspended in the city of Malaga, where flooding was causing traffic chaos, around midday today.

Malaga City Hall confirmed around the same time 28 people evacuated from their homes had spent the night at a municipal sports centre and others had arranged their own emergency accommodation. Criminal trials scheduled to take place today at the city’s courts were also suspended.

With the devastating Valencia which claimed more than 200 lives still very much on people’s minds, one local Spanish newspaper resuming today’s reaction to the red weather alert and cold drop in the area said: “Malaga is self-confining out of fear about the DANA.”