Spain floods latest: 5,000 more soldiers deployed as satellite photos show extent of devastation
Death toll expected to keeping rising as Spain’s worst flood-related disaster in modern history sweeps across region of Valencia
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Your support makes all the difference.An extra 5,000 soldiers are being deployed to the flooded Valencia region to support the “biggest operation by the Armed Forces in Spain in peacetime”, prime minister Pedro Sanchez said.
Along with 5,000 extra police officers and the 2,500 soldiers already on the ground, the troops will lead search and clean-up efforts as Spain reels from its worst flood-related disaster in modern history.
In a televised statement on Saturday, prime minister Pedro Sanchez said the number of people killed has risen to 211. He said the government would “mobilise all the resources necessary as long as they are needed”, with more bodies believed to be within the devastation.
Before-and-after satellite images have emerged showing the scale of devastation in Valencia. Vast areas of land are seen covered in a brown swamp of muddy water after the torrential rainfall on Tuesday.
Officials said the death toll is likely to keep rising, with most of the deaths so far in Valencia, the eastern region that bore the brunt of the devastation.
Fresh weather alerts are in place for Spain’s east coast and its western border with Portugal. Rains are expected to continue into the weekend.
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Cars and furniture lay piled up in mud as Spain reels from deadly floods
Spain floods mapped: Where are weather alerts in force as death toll hits 158?
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‘Cold drop’ and flood defences: What caused the devastating flash flooding in Spain?
In pictures: Volunteers and emergency services work to clear the streets
Thousands join first coordinated effort to clean streets on Friday
Thousands joined the effort to clean up Spain’s streets following the devastating floods on Friday.
An arts and science centre, normally used for opera performances, became the central hub of the clean-up efforts in Valencia.
Volunteers arrived at Valencia’s City of Arts and Sciences for the first local authority-organised group clean-up.
So strong was the desire from residents to band together and clean Spain’s streets that the mass arrival of volunteers complicated access for professional emergency workers. Authorities had to devise a plan on how best to deploy those that arrived.
It came after Carlos Mazon, Valencian regional president, posted on X on Friday: "Tomorrow, Saturday, at 7 in the morning, together with the Volunteer Platform, we will launch the volunteer centre to better organise, (and) transport the help of those who are helping from the City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia."
Spain floods mapped: Where are weather alerts in force as death toll hits 207?
Weather warnings are in force across swathes of Spain as further storms approach on the heels of devastating flooding which has claimed at least 158 lives – making it the country’s worst natural disaster in living memory.
Prime minister Pedro Sanchez has warned that the devastation caused by flash flooding is “not finished” as he declared Valencia a “disaster zone” on Thursday. Urging residents to remain in their homes, he said: “Right now the most important thing is to safeguard as many lives as possible.”
Cities such as Valencia and Malaga were inundated this week after nearly a year’s worth of rain – close to half a metre – fell in just eight hours in some areas, leaving residents “trapped like rats” in homes and cars, as described by one desperate local mayor recalling the chaos.
The Independent’s Andy Gregory reports:
Spain floods mapped: Where are weather alerts in force as death toll hits 207?
New weather warnings issued in dozens of areas in Spain as prime minister warns devastation from flooding is ‘not finished’
Why were Spain’s ‘catastrophic’ floods so deadly? Everything we know
At least 202 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.
Climate Correspondent Stuti Mishra reports:
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
Some 500 soldiers deployed to search for missing amid fears more bodies hidden among destruction
Some 500 soldiers have been deployed to search for people who are still missing and help survivors of the storm.
Officials said the death toll is likely to keep rising in what is already Spain’s worst flood-related disaster in modern history and the deadliest to hit Europe since the 1970s, with most of the deaths so far in Valencia, the eastern region that bore the brunt of the devastation.
Emergency services working to clear cars piled up at the entrance of a flooded underpass in the suburbs feared finding more trapped bodies. “We’re trying to remove vehicles bit by bit to see if there are victims,” one rescue worker told state television. “We don’t know.”
Cars and furniture lay piled up in mud as Spain reels from deadly floods
Cars and furniture lay piled up in mud as Spain reels from deadly floods
Cars, furniture, and white goods lay piled up in mud on the streets of Alfafar, Spain, on Saturday, 2 November as the country reeled from catastrophic flooding. At least 205 people have died in the extreme weather conditions as fresh weather warnings for rain prompt fears of further flooding. Around 202 of those killed were in the hardest-hit region of Valencia alone. The death toll rose significantly on Friday as rescue workers continued to search for missing people. Those impacted the worst by the flash flooding in eastern Spain are expecting more rain, as yellow and amber weather warnings remain in place.
Death toll rises again – from 205 to 207, says interior minister
The death toll from the devastating flash floods in Spain has risen again – from 205 to 207, the interior minister has confirmed.
According to local media, Fernando Grande-Marlaska told the Spanish radio station Hora 25: “The update is that there are 207 confirmed victims.”
He added: “It is impossible to know the number of missing people and it would not be prudent for me to give a figure.”
‘It’s all destroyed’: Aftermath of deadly flash floods in Spain
Early action can mitigate flood destruction, UN climate agency says
Effective flood warning systems could help to avoid the level of destruction that has occurred in the Valencia region of Spain this week, the World Meteorological Organisation said on Friday.
“We do need to ensure that the early warnings reach those who need them,” WMO official Clare Ms Nullis told a regular UN briefing. “We need to ensure that early warnings lead to informed early action.”
Ms Nullis declined to comment on whether Madrid had acted too slowly in warning residents about the floods, saying only that it was something that “Spanish authorities need to examine”.
Is it safe to travel to Spain and should I cancel my holiday?
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 95 people have lost their lives after the flooding swept through streets, turning walkways into rivers and trapping people in their homes and on car roofs.
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
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