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.
‘Where is the aid? My town is a cemetery’: Spanish flood victim reveals horror in town where 62 have died
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?
‘Everything looks apocalyptic’: Spain flood victim says her entire home was engulfed in less than 10 minutes
‘Cold drop’ and flood defences: What caused the devastating flash flooding in Spain?
Residents and rescuers speak of ‘inhuman’ tragedy which could have been avoided
Residents and rescue workers lamented the scale of devastation in the worst floods in Europe since the 1970s as anger mounted over what some said was a lack of preparation.
Emergency services working to clear cars piled up at the entrance of a flooded underpass in the Valencia 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.”
Resident Isabel Santiago, 49, watched the scene with tears in her eyes: “There have been so many losses, which could have been avoided. There must be a lot of people in that tunnel because they didn’t have time to get out. This is inhuman.”
Valencia’s regional government said people seeking to help should gather at the capital’s Arts and Sciences museum complex at 7am on Saturday to ease coordination.
In Alfafar, a suburb outside the city of Valencia, Spain‘s third-largest, drone footage showed the tangled wreckage of dozens of vehicles strewn across rail tracks.
Valencia resident Hector Bolivar, 65, questioned why a text message alert was only sent out at 8 pm when the heavy rain had begun several hours earlier.
Regional leader Carlos Mazon said all protocols for disaster management were followed and that authorities had begun warning people from Sunday.
Spain flood victim says her entire home was engulfed in less than 10 minutes
‘Terrified’ Spain flood victim reveals scale of devastation: ‘It’s apocalyptic’
‘By the time they warned homes were flooding, mine was already underwater’
Power mostly restored as death toll expected to rise further
More than 90 per cent of the households in eastern Spain hit by catastrophic floods regained power on Friday, utility company Iberdrola said, even as thousands still lacked electricity in areas completely cut off.
The death toll from the unprecedented floods rose to 205 people, with 200 of them killed in Valencia, the eastern region that bore the brunt of the devastation.
Spanish rescuers opened a temporary morgue in a convention centre and battled to reach areas still cut off on Friday to provide aid and support to the people.
Some 500 soldiers were deployed to search for people who are still missing and help survivors of the storm, which triggered a fresh weather alert in the Balearic Islands, Catalonia and Valencia, where rains are expected to continue during the weekend.
Officials said the death toll is likely to keep rising.
Climate change is making extreme downpours in Spain heavier and more likely, scientists say
Human-caused climate change made Spain’s rainfall about 12% heavier and doubled the likelihood of a storm as intense as this week’s deluge of Valencia, according to a rapid but partial analysis Thursday by World Weather Attribution, a group of international scientists who study global warming’s role in extreme weather.
Monstrous flash floods in Spain claimed at least 158 lives, with 155 deaths confirmed in the eastern Valencia region alone. An unknown number of people are still missing and more victims could be found. Crews searched for bodies in stranded cars and sodden buildings Thursday.
World Weather Attribution said climate change is the most likely explanation for extreme downpours in southern Spain, as a warmer atmosphere can hold more moisture, leading to heavier downpours. The group noted its analysis is not a full, detailed attribution study, as the scientists did not use climate models to simulate the event in a world without human-caused warming.
Read the full article here:
Climate change is making extreme downpours in Spain heavier and more likely, scientists say
Human-caused climate change made Spain’s rainfall about 12% heavier and doubled the likelihood of a storm as intense as this week’s deluge of Valencia, according to a rapid but partial analysis Thursday by World Weather Attribution, a group of international scientists who study global warming’s role in extreme weather
Flood survivors say regional Spanish officials waited too long to warn them of the danger
Moments after rushing waters burst through the door to her home, Mari Carmen Pérez received a text message alert from regional Spanish authorities warning her of the possibility of flash floods.
By the time Pérez’s phone buzzed, the water has already gushed into her kitchen, living room and bathroom, forcing her and her family to flee upstairs.
“They didn’t have any idea of what was going on,” Pérez, a 56-year-old cleaner, said Thursday by phone from Barrio de la Torre in Valencia. “Everything is ruined. The people here, we have never seen anything like this.”
Read the full article here:
Flood survivors say regional Spanish officials waited too long to warn them of the danger
Moments after rushing waters burst through the door to her home, Mari Carmen Pérez received a text message alert from regional Spanish authorities warning her of the possibility of flash floods
Watch: Woman and baby airlifted to safety from Spain’s flash floods
Watch: Baby airlifted to safety from Spain’s flash floods by metal cage
Watch the moment an elderly woman and baby are airlifted to safety from catastrophic flash floods in Valencia, Spain. Emergency services have shared footage of the woman and one-year-old baby being rescued after their home was flooded by water on Thursday (31 October). It captures the moment a military emergency unit rescues the woman using a metal cage attached to a helicopter. The official number of people killed by the catastrophic floods has risen dramatically to 158. Spain’s prime minister has urged residents to stay at home as he warned devastation is “not finished” and declared Valencia a “disaster zone”.
In pictures: Spain’s flash flooding sees mud and debris fill streets
Real Madrid’s trip to Valencia postponed amid deadly flooding in Spain
Valencia’s match against Real Madrid this weekend has been postponed due to the deadly floods which killed at least 95 people in the Spanish region.
The Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) said LaLiga games, women’s matches and youth fixtures due to be played in the Valencian area have been called off.
Valencia has been declared a “disaster zone” by Spain’s prime minister authorities have warned against non-essential travel in the region.
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Real Madrid’s trip to Valencia postponed amid deadly flooding in Spain
Real Madrid were set to travel to the Mestalla on Saturday but all games in the Valencian region will be rescheduled, as per LaLiga’s request.
Tourist hotspot Palma in Majorca on high alert for storm and flooding
The tourist hotspot Palma on the island of Majorca is bracing itself for heavy rainfall and floods as the deadly storm, which has killed more than 200 people, heads towards the Balearic Islands.
Locals and tourists have been urged to remain inside after Spain‘s national weather service warned that the brunt of the storm was headed for Majorca.
Palma’s first deputy mayor, Javier Bonet told people to only leave their homes if it is “absolutely necessary”.
He said: “We are not on red alert, but it is essential to warn the population to avoid greater risks.”
Expat teacher in Spain still trapped after flood waters surround town and food runs out
An expat teacher living south of Valencia in Spain says he is unable to leave his town due to being “surrounded by water” following flash flooding in the region.
John Fahy, 55, who lives in a seaside town called Cullera, also reported there being no food in the supermarkets, with no new supplies expected for a while.
At least 158 people have been killed in Spain’s worst flooding disaster this century, with rescue workers searching for bodies in stranded cars and sodden buildings.
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Expat teacher in Spain still trapped after flood waters surround town near Valencia
John Fahy described driving home during the worst of the storm, which hit southern Spain on Tuesday.
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