The death toll from devastating floods in eastern Spain rose to 158 on Thursday, the 31st of October, as rescue teams continued to search for the missing in what could become the worst storm disaster in Europe for five decades as heavy rains continue to threaten parts of the country, reports the British broadcaster BBC.
Spain began three days of official national mourning on Thursday.
“The most important thing now is to save as many lives as possible,” said Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez during a visit to those affected.
Tuesday’s torrential rain and flash floods hit Valencia hard, as well as Castilla-La Mancha and as far south as Malaga. At least 155 deaths were recorded in Valencia, two more in the west of Castile-La Mancha and one in Andalusia.
“We all know someone who has died”, said pharmacist in Paiporta, Valencia, where a river burst banks, describing the situation as a “nightmare”.
On Thursday, in the city funeral firms and burial vans removed bodies from the streets, while cars swept away by floods were piled on top of each other on nearby roads.
Officials have not revealed how many people are still missing, but said it was “a lot”.
According to the Spanish meteorological agency Aemet, the town of Chiva, near Valencia, received almost a year’s worth of rainfall in just eight hours.
As further warnings of heavy rain were issued in the south and east of the country on Thursday, King Felipe VI warned that the emergency “is not over yet”
and Prime Minister Sanchez warned people to seek shelter if necessary.
In the flood-affected regions of Spain, hundreds of people are in temporary shelters, streets are being cleaned and homes and businesses are being rebuilt. In Hereza, families have been evacuated due to rising river levels, while road and rail traffic in Valencia remains suspended due to torrential rain.
Aerial footage courtesy of the CNP reveals the devastating aftermath of yesterday’s historic flash flooding event in Valencia province, Spain. Damage looks more like a war zone or tsunami than flooding. The death toll has now surpassed 70 and continues to rise. pic.twitter.com/Yp8oZWis7C
— Nahel Belgherze (@WxNB_) October 30, 2024
The aftermath of flooding in Valencia, Spain pic.twitter.com/ngAmdwncQa
— curious side of (@curioXities) October 30, 2024
In Spain, there is growing public outrage at the delay in issuing flood warnings in a developed European country: the Civil Protection Agency, which is involved in national disasters, only issued the warning at 20:15 local time on Tuesday evening, when several areas in Valencia had already been flooded for several hours.
The Spanish authorities have called the flooding “unprecedented”, while scientists refer to “gota fria”, a natural weather phenomenon that affects Spain in autumn and winter when cold air flows into warmer waters over the Mediterranean Sea, a phenomenon that has been exacerbated by climate change, which scientists believe has led to heavier rainfall because of warmer atmospheric temperatures.