Spain floods latest: Fresh storm warning as death toll expected to rise amid search for ‘many missing people’
Death toll continues to rise after worst flash floods in three decades swept Spanish region of Valencia
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.As Spanish authorities prepare for the flash flood death toll to rise, some of those most affected have been warned to expect more torrential rain today.
Emergency services are continuing to search for dozens of missing people in eastern and southern Spain following the tragedy which has killed at least 95 people.
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.
Many affected are preparing for more extreme weather, as Spain’s meteorological service Aemet issued a series of fresh warnings - including the most severe kind - for Thursday.
Red alerts have been issued for the province of Castellon, which is expected to see up to 180mm of rain in 12 hours.
Castellon lies north of Valencia- the area impacted the most severely in recent days - which is also under a yellow weather warning on Thursday with up to 20mm of rain expected in an hour.
Have you been affected by this? Get in touch at athena.stavrou@independent.co.uk.
What do we know this morning?
As rescue workers continue trying to recover the dozens of people still missing, here is what we know on Thursday morning:
- At least 95 people have been killed after eastern Spain was hit by flash floods.
- Ministers have warned that the death toll is likely to rise as there are “many missing people”.
- A 71-year-old British man is among the dead.
- Forecasters are predicting more heavy rain for the areas affected.
- The rainstorms started on Tuesday and continued on Wednesday which triggered the devastating flooding.
- More than 1,000 soldiers from Spain’s emergency response unit have been deployed to the most devastated areas.
- The main areas affected are the eastern province of Valencia and neighbouring regions.
EU fly flags half mast following tragedy
The European Commission is flying its flags half mast today in solidarity with the lives lost in Spain’s flash flooding.
A picture of the EU flags outside the headquarters Brussels was shared on X/Twitter
“The European flags in front of our headquarters in Brussels are at half-mast. Our thoughts are with the victims of the floods in Spain, their families and the rescue teams. The floods in Spain are not only a national tragedy. It’s also a European one.”
Severe weather warning issued
Severe weather warnings have been issued by Spain’s state meteorological service Aemet for Thursday.
Calm weather returned on Thursday to the hardest-hit areas around the city of Valencia, Spain’s third-largest, but the Aemet state weather agency issued its highest level of alert for the province of Castellon.
Further north in the Catalonia region, an amber alert was issued for the city of Tarragona.
It warned: “Extreme danger! Do not travel in the area unless absolutely necessary!”
Spanish president to visit Valencia today
Spain’s president is set to visit some of the worst affected areas of Valencia on Thursday.
President Pedro Sanchez will be seeing the devastating damage first hand having already spoken with the Carlos Mazon and Emiliano García-Page, the presidents of the Valencia Community and Castilla-La Mancha.
Three days of mourning to begin today
Today (Thursday) marks the first official day of national mourning in Spain, after at least 95 people were killed by flash flooding.
Three days of mourning were declared by the Spanish government in the wake of the tragedy.
During an official mourning period, public events are often postponed or cancelled out of respect and flags fly at half mast.
Shocking images of cars strewn across motorway in flood aftermath
More rain expected to hit worst-affected areas
As emergency sevices continue to search for the dozens of people still missing in the devastating flash floods, more rain has been forecast for some of the worst-affected areas.
Spain’s state meteorological service Aemet has issued warnings yellow and orange warnings for much of eastern Spain, with up to 100mm of rain expected to fall within 12 hours in areas north of Valencia.
Valencia itself is also facing a yellow weather warning, with 20mm of rain expected to fall in one hour on Thursday.
The surrounding areas of Castello de la Plana, Vinaros, Morella and Tortosa are all subject to more severe orange weather warnings.
In pics: Aftermath of the flooding in Spain
Death toll expected to rise as still ‘many missing people'
At least 95 people have been confirmed dead since flash floods devestated eastern Spain, with more expected to come.
Emergency services are continuing to search for the dozens of people still missing in the regions affected, with more rain on the way.
Government minister Angel Victor Torres told Spanish broadcaster TVE that the death toll is likely to rise because “there are many missing people”.
Climate crisis ‘worsened all 10 deadliest weather events'
Climate change made the 10 deadliest extreme weather events over the past two decades worse, contributing to the deaths of more than 570,000 people, scientists have said.
Climate scientists said the finding “underscores how dangerous extreme weather events have already become” with just 1.3C of global warming above pre-industrial levels.
It also highlights the urgency of cutting the greenhouse gas emissions driving rising temperatures and more extreme weather, they said, as the world is currently on track for 3C of warming by the end of the century – a level recently described by UN chief Antonio Guterres as “catastrophic”.
More here.
Climate change ‘worsened all 10 deadliest weather events in past two decades’
The deadliest weather events since 2004 caused more than 570,000 deaths and the ‘fingerprints’ of climate change were present, scientists say.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments