Spain floods latest: British man among 95 dead in Valencia flooding as dozens still missing
The death toll continues to rise after the worst flash floods in three decades swept the eastern Spanish region of Valencia
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Your support makes all the difference.At least 95 people, including a 71-year-old British man, have died in southern and eastern Spain following the deadliest flash flooding in the country for three decades.
Authorities fear the death will rise as other regions of Spain were yet to report victims and search efforts continued in hard-to-reach places to find dozens of missing people.
“The fact that we can’t give a number of the missing persons indicates the magnitude of the tragedy,” said minister of territory policies Angel Victor Torres.
A British man died in hospital hours after being rescued from his home on the outskirts of Alhaurín de la Torre, Málaga, according to the president of the Andalusian government, Juanma Morena.
He said the man had been suffering from hypothermia and died after suffering several cardiac arrests.
As torrential rain – amounting to a year’s worth in just eight hours in some areas – inundated cities such as Valencia and Malaga, many found themselves "trapped like rats" in their homes and cars, surrounded by rapidly rising floodwaters.
Police and rescuers used helicopters to lift people from their homes and cars as mud-coloured water quickly filled streets in dozens of villages, towns and cities.
Spain approves 10.6 billion-euro relief package
Spain's central government approved a 10.6-billion-euro (£8.9 billion) relief package for 78 communities on Tuesday that Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez compared with measures taken during the Covid-19 pandemic.
They include direct payments of 20,000 euros to 60,000 euros to owners of damaged homes, among other financial aid for businesses and municipal governments.
"We have a lot of work left to do, and we know it," Mr Sanchez said.
Mr Sanchez said he will ask the European Union to help pay for the relief.
Politicians point the finger over who is to blame for failure to warn residents of fatal floods
Spanish minister Felix Bolanos from the Socialist Party said Tuesday’s cabinet would declare some of the worst hit villages by the floods in the regions of Valencia, Andalusia, Castile La Mancha and Catalonia as “severely affected areas” so that they can be entitled to emergency funds.
He added that the government would approve on Tuesday a package of relief measures to help people cope with the situation without giving further details.
Opposition politicians accused the left-wing central government of acting too slowly to warn residents and send in rescuers.
Mazon on Monday had previously said the Hydrographic Confederation of Jucar (CHJ), which measures the flow of rivers and ravines for the state, had cancelled a planned alert three times.
But Madrid said the CHJ does not issue flood risk alerts, which are the responsibility of Spain’s regional governments.
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.
“We can’t leave our town because it’s flooded all around,” he said.
“There’s no-one in the shops in Cullera because there’s no food and there won’t be for a while.”
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.
Spain floods mapped: Where are weather alerts in force as death toll hits 217?
Yellow weather warnings for rain are in force in Spain’s northeastern Catalonia region a day after Barcelona was hit by fresh flooding following the country’s worst natural disaster in living memory.
Prime minister Pedro Sanchez warned that the devastation caused by flash flooding is “not finished” after at least 217 people were killed last week, mostly near Valencia.
Cities such as Valencia and Malaga were inundated last 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.
Spain floods mapped: Where are weather alerts in force as death toll hits 217?
New weather warnings issued in areas in Spain as prime minister warns devastation from flooding is ‘not finished’
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