Spain floods latest: Deaths soar over 200 in Valencia amid fresh fears of flooding and new rain alert issued
Death toll continues to rise after worst flash floods in three decades sweeps across Spanish region of Valencia
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Your support makes all the difference.The number of those killed in catastrophic flash flooding in Spain has soared to at least 205, as fresh weather warnings for rain prompt fears of further flooding.
The death toll rose significantly on Friday as rescue workers continued to search for missing people. 202 of those killed were in the hardest-hit region of Valencia alone.
Spain’s state weather agency, Aemet, has issued the most severe kind of weather alert in the south west of the country as the province of Huelva was hit by torrential rain.
Those impacted the worst by the flash flooding in eastern Spain are also expecting more rain, as yellow and amber weather warnings remain in place.
The country is in its second day of an official three-day national mourning, with flags at half-mast on official buildings.
Spain’s prime minister Pedro Sanchez urged residents to stay at home as he warned devastation is “not finished” on Thursday and declared the worst impacted province of Valencia a “disaster zone”.
‘Where is the aid? My town is a cemetery’: Spanish flood victim reveals horror
More than 200 people have been killed in Spain as the army joined rescue efforts on Friday in the aftermath of the worst flash floods to hit the country in decades, leaving victims in the ravaged region begging for aid.
Dani Sorní, a 22-year-old resident of Paiporta, the epicentre of the disaster, described the grave conditions. “This town is a cemetery, with bodies trapped under a metre-and-a-half of mud and under cars,” he told The Independent.
With the final death toll feared to be 400, survivors described a “tsunami” of water trapping victims in their cars and their fury over poor planning and slow response by authorities.
Read the full article here:
Spanish flood victim reveals devastation from town where 62 people were killed
‘Everyone in the town of Paiporta knows of someone who has died’
Citizens fill the void left by authorities
There are so many people coming to help the hardest-hit areas that the authorities have asked them not to drive or walk there, because they are blocking the roads needed by the emergency services.
“It is very important that you return home,” said regional President Carlos Mazïn, who thanked the volunteers for their goodwill. The regional government has asked volunteers to gather at a large cultural center in the city Saturday morning to organize work crews and transport.
Electricity was at last restored for Chiva’s 20,000 residents on Thursday night, and there is still no running water. Local governments have been distributing water, food and basic necessities in towns across Valencia affected by the flash floods, and the Red Cross is using its vast network of aid to help those affected.
In Chiva, the Civil Guard police officers have been searching collapsed houses and the gorge for bodies, and directly traffic. Firefighters are helping ensure buildings were safe. Some 500 soldiers have been deployed in the Valencia region to deliver water and essential goods to those in need, and more are on the way.
‘I never thought this could happen,’ says local
Mud cakes her boots, splatters her leggings and the gloves holding her broom. Brown specks freckle her cheeks.
The mire covering Alicia Montero is the signature uniform of the impromptu army of volunteers who for a third day Friday shoveled and swept out the muck and debris that filled the small town of Chiva in Valencia after flash floods swept through the region. Spain’s deadliest natural disaster in living memory has left at least 205 people dead with untold numbers still missing, and countless lives in tatters.
As police and emergency workers continue the grim search for bodies, authorities appear overwhelmed by the enormity of the disaster, and survivors are relying on the esprit de corps of volunteers who have rushed in to fill the void.
While hundreds of people in cars and on foot have been streaming in from Valencia city to the suburbs to help, Montero and her friends are locals of Chiva, where at least seven people died when Tuesday’s storm unleashed its fury.
“I never thought this could happen. It moves me to see my town in this shape,” Montero said. “We have always had autumn storms, but nothing like this.”
Why were Spain’s ‘catastrophic’ floods so deadly? Everything we know as images reveal devastation
At least 205 people are dead after Spain was struck by the worst floods in recent memory that submerged towns, toppled bridges and cut entire communities off from the outside world.
The deadly floods left cars piled up like toys in streets, swallowed homes, and covered entire neighbourhoods in sludge and debris.
Muddy rivers swept away everything in their path – roads, houses and key infrastructure.
Read the full article here:
Why were Spain’s ‘catastrophic’ floods so deadly? Everything we know
Floods left cars piled up like toys in streets, swallowed homes, and covered entire neighbourhoods in sludge as authorities report 202 fatalities
Driver clings to car roof as water surges through roads
Valencia residents face ‘disaster’ as more rain expected
Skies in Valencia were partially sunny on Friday, but the Spanish weather agency has issued alerts for strong rains in the region as well as the coast of Huelva, Andalusia; Tarragona, in Catalonia; and part of the Balearic Islands.
The storm cut power and water services on Tuesday night, but about 85% of 155,000 affected customers had their power back on by Friday, the utility said in a statement.
“This is a disaster. There are a lot of elderly people who don’t have medicine. There are children who don’t have food. We don’t have milk, we don’t have water. We have no access to anything,” a resident of Alfafar, one of the most affected towns in south Valencia, told state television station TVE. “No one even came to warn us on the first day.”
Is it safe to travel to Spain and should I cancel my holiday after flooding disaster?
Eastern Spain has been hit with devastating flash flooding this week, the worst flooding disaster the area has experienced in decades.
Rainstorms started on Tuesday (29 October) and continued into Wednesday. In the aftermath of the floods, cars have been piled on the street surrounded by a sea of debris from damaged buildings and structures.
At least 158 people have lost their lives after the flooding swept through streets, turning walkways into rivers and trapping people in their homes and on the roofs of cars.
Read the full article here:
Is it safe to travel to Spain? Should I cancel my holiday?
Flooding has severly impacted the Valencia region, with more rain on the way in the the southwest in Huelva
Scientists blame climate change which is ‘turbocharging’ extreme weather
Spain’s Mediterranean coast is used to autumn storms that can cause flooding, but this was the most powerful flash flooding in recent memory. Scientists have linked it to climate change, which is also behind increasingly high temperatures and droughts in Spain and the heating up of the Mediterranean Sea.
“Climate change is turbocharging extreme weather. We can expect to see more of the devastation and the despair that we have been seeing this week as a warming atmosphere brings more energy into our climate system”, said Clare Nullis, a spokesperson for the World Meteorological Organization.
“As a result of rising temperatures, the hydrological cycle has accelerated. It’s also become more erratic, more unpredictable”, she added. “We are facing growing problems of either too much water or too little. And that’s what we’re seeing playing out in Spain at the moment.”
Spain has suffered through an almost two-year drought, making the flooding worse because the dry ground was so hard that it could not absorb the heavy rain.
Storms cause disruption at Barcelona airport
Spain’s air navigation service provider Enaire has warned that “adverse weather” due to the storms is causing disruption to arrivals at Barcelona airport.
In a post on X, Enaire says the situation is being monitored and advises people to check with their airline for updates.
Earlier today, they posted a similar warning for flights arriving at Palma de Mallorca airport.
‘It’s all destroyed’: Aftermath of deadly flash floods in Spain
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