At least 95 killed in Spanish flash floods as king warns of areas cut off by damage

By Jacobs Seaman Odongo | Wednesday, October 30, 2024
At least 95 killed in Spanish flash floods as king warns of areas cut off by damage
Most streets in Valencia had cars piled up
Valencia seems to be the worst hit city, with images showing piled up vehicles and destroyed neighbourhoods, and Spain's transport minister saying the high-speed line between the city and Madrid is significantly damaged.

BBC | The number of people killed in these flash floods has just risen to 95, with some 92 of those deaths recorded in Valencia alone.

A further two deaths were in Castilla-La Mancha and the other was in Malaga - the 71-year-old British man who we mentioned in our last post and whose death was reported by the Andalusian government's president.

Both the rescue and clean-up operations are continuing in south-eastern Spain, meaning the situation is evolving and we're receiving updates all the time.

Valencia seems to be the worst hit city, with images showing piled up vehicles and destroyed neighbourhoods, and Spain's transport minister saying the high-speed line between the city and Madrid is significantly damaged.

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How the floods came about: Parts of south-eastern Spain saw more than a year's worth of rainfall in just eight hours - in part because of what's known as the Dana phenomenon, which you can learn more about here.

Criticism has been directed towards the regional government of Valencia, which eliminated the Valencia Emergency Unit (UVE) upon taking office in 2023.

Local mayor Consuelo Tarazon says they received "several" flood alerts before the floodwaters arrived in Horno de Alcedo.

"The first alert was about half an hour before the flood started, the second alert when we had already gone up to the upper floors out of fear because the water had already reached one and a half metres, and the third one came this morning," she says.

Referencing Inferno from Dante's epic narrative poem The Divine Comedy, she said the scene was "a vision of hell".

"In my 58 years I've never seen anything like this in my life.

Meanwhile, more than 1,000 troops have been deployed to help with the rescue operation.

The weather forecast from now: As of this afternoon, Spain's state weather agencyAEMET forecasts the torrential rains will ease today, but areas of the coastal region will remain under a weather alert.

The storm is heading north and warnings are now in place for north-eastern Catalonia.

Ángel Víctor Torres, minister for territorial policy, says the government is unable to provide official data on how many people are missing.

Rescue operations are ongoing after more than a year's worth of rain fell in just eight hours, causing flash floods in part of south-eastern Spain.

King Felipe VI spoke of the "enormous destruction" caused by the flooding and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has said more than 1,000 troops have been deployed to help with the rescue operations.

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