A resident walks next to a lifted car in a flooded area in Picania, near Valencia, in eastern Spain, on October 30, 2024.
Jose Jordan | AFP | Getty Images
Flash floods in eastern Spain have destroyed cars, turned village streets into rivers and disrupted railway lines and highways, killing at least 63 people in the European country’s worst natural disaster in recent years.
Emergency services in the eastern Valencia region confirmed the death toll at 62 on Wednesday. An 88-year-old woman was found dead in the city of Cuenca, the Castilla-La Mancha region’s central government office added.
Heavy rains on Tuesday caused flooding across large swathes of southern and eastern Spain, stretching from Malaga to Valencia. The mud-colored floodwaters sent vehicles tumbling through the streets at high speeds and sent wood chips and household items spinning in the water. Police and rescue services used helicopters to pluck people from their homes and rubber dinghies to free motorists who were trapped on their car roofs.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said dozens of towns were flooded.
“For those who are looking for their loved ones, your pain is felt across Spain,” Sanchez said in a televised address. “Our priority is to help you. We are putting in all the necessary resources so that we can recover from this tragedy.” Recover from it.”
Authorities reported several people missing Tuesday night, only to make a shocking announcement the next morning that dozens of people were dead.
Photo taken on October 30, 2024 in Picania near Valencia in eastern Spain shows cars piled on the street after flooding. The rescue department said on October 30 that floods caused by heavy rains in the Valencia region of eastern Spain have killed 51 people.
Jose Jordan | AFP | Getty Images
“Yesterday was the worst day of my life,” Ricardo Gabaldón, mayor of the Valencian town of Uttil, told state broadcaster RTVE. He said many people were still missing in his town.
“We are trapped like rats. Cars and bins are flowing along the streets. The water level has risen to three meters,” he said.
More than 1,000 Spanish emergency force soldiers were dispatched to the disaster area. Rescue workers are also coming east from other parts of Spain. Spain’s central government established a crisis committee to help coordinate rescue efforts.
An elderly couple was rescued from the roof of their home by a military bulldozer, accompanied by three soldiers holding large shovels.
Television reports showed footage taken by panicked residents documenting how floodwaters inundated the ground floors of apartments, streams bursting their banks and bridges collapsing.
Spain has experienced similar autumn storms in recent years. However, compared with the devastation of the past two days, it was reminiscent of the floods in Germany and Belgium in 2021 that killed 230 people.
The death toll is likely to rise as no victims have been reported in other areas and search and rescue efforts continue in inaccessible areas.
Residents walk near mountains of cars after flooding in Picania, near Valencia, eastern Spain, on October 30, 2024.
Jose Jordan | AFP | Getty Images
In the neighboring village of Letour in the Castile-La Mancha region, mayor Sergio Marín Sánchez said six people were missing.
Spain is still recovering from a severe drought and continues to experience record high temperatures in recent years. Scientists say the increase in extreme weather may be related to climate change.
The storm produced an unusual hailstorm that punched holes in car windows and greenhouses and spawned a rare tornado.
Traffic is also affected. A high-speed train carrying nearly 300 people derailed near Malaga, but railway authorities said no one was injured. High-speed train services between the city of Valencia and Madrid were disrupted, as were several commuter lines.
Valencia regional president Carlos Masson urged people to stay home, as road travel was already difficult due to downed trees and vehicle wrecks. Authorities warn the danger is not over yet as more rain is coming.
As the flood waters receded, thick mud accumulated on the streets.
“The neighborhood is destroyed, all the cars are on top of each other, it’s just smashed,” Christian Viena, owner of the Valencia bar in the village of Barrio de la Torre, said by phone. . “Everything was completely destroyed, everything was ready to be thrown away. The mud is almost 30 centimeters deep. “
Outside bars in Vienne, people ventured out to see what they could salvage. Cars piled up and the street was filled with a clump of waterlogged branches.
Located on the Mediterranean coast south of Barcelona, Valencia is a tourist destination known for its beaches, citrus groves and as the home of paella.
Like some other regions in Spain, Valencia has canyons and creek beds that are completely dry most of the year but quickly fill with water when it rains. Many of them pass through densely populated areas.
The rain in Valencia had eased late Wednesday morning. But more storms are expected on Thursday, according to Spain’s national weather agency.
