Spain searches for bodies after unprecedented floods claim at least 158 ​​lives

Crews searched stranded cars and waterlogged buildings for bodies Thursday while residents salvaged what they could from ruined homes after devastating flooding. in spain It claimed at least 158 ​​lives, with 155 deaths confirmed in the eastern region of Valencia alone.

More horrors emerged Thursday from the rubble and ubiquitous mud layers left behind by a wall of water that caused Spain’s deadliest natural disaster in living memory. The damage recalled the aftermath of the tsunami, with survivors left to pick up the pieces as they mourned their loved ones.

At least 63 people have died in devastating flooding across eastern Spain, officials said.

Cars were piled on top of each other, with toppled dominoes, uprooted trees, downed power lines and household goods covering dozens of streets in the Valencia region, south of Barcelona, ​​covered in mud. mediterranean coast.

The number of missing people is still unknown, and the number of victims may increase.

Spain’s Transport Minister Óscar Puente said early Thursday that “unfortunately there were fatalities in some of the vehicles”, but the death toll had risen sharply from 95 on Wednesday night.

The rushing water turned narrow streets into death traps and created rivers that swept away homes and businesses, sweeping away cars, people and everything in their path. Floods destroyed bridges and rendered roads unrecognizable.

Luis Sánchez, a welder, said he rescued several people trapped in flooding on the V-31 highway south of Valencia. The road quickly became a floating graveyard dotted with hundreds of vehicles.

“I saw a body floating around,” Sanchez said. “I screamed, but there was nothing,” he said. “The firefighters took the elderly people in first when they could get in. Since I was from nearby, I tried to help and rescue people. “People were crying all over and they were trapped.”

Local authorities said late Wednesday that rescuers had flown in helicopters to rescue about 70 people trapped on rooftops and in cars, but that rescuers on the ground were still a long way off.

Cars piled up after being swept away by floods in Valencia, Spain, Thursday, October 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Alberto Size)

“Our priority is to help find victims and missing people and end their families’ suffering.” Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez He spoke after meeting with officials and emergency workers in Valencia on Thursday, the first of three days of official mourning.

‘Extraordinary’ flood

Spain’s Mediterranean coast is no stranger to autumn storms that can cause flooding, but this was the most intense flash flooding in recent memory. Scientists link this to climate change. This is also responsible for increasingly higher temperatures and droughts in Spain and the heating of the Mediterranean Sea.

Human-caused climate change has doubled the likelihood of storms like the floods that occurred in Valencia this week, according to a quick but partial analysis Thursday by World Weather Attribution, a group of dozens of international scientists who study the role of global warming in climate extremes. It has increased.

Spain has been suffering from a drought for almost two years. That means when flooding occurred late Tuesday and early Wednesday, the ground was too hard to absorb the rain, causing flash flooding.

The violent weather phenomenon alarmed local government officials. Spain’s National Meteorological Service said more rain fell in the Valencian town of Chiba in eight hours than in the previous 20 months.

Mayor Maribel Albat said Thursday that at least 62 people had been killed in Pieporta, a town of 25,000 people next to the city of Valencia.

“(Paiporta) has never had any floods or problems of this kind,” Albalat told state broadcaster RTVE. And we found a lot of older people in the city centre,” he said. “There were a lot of people coming to take their cars out of the garage. It was really a trap.’

farm damaged

While municipalities near the city of Valencia were the hardest hit, the storm swept across a huge swath of the southern and eastern coasts of the Iberian Peninsula. Two deaths were confirmed in the nearby Castile-La Mancha region and one in southern Andalusia.

Greenhouses and farms in southern Spain, known as Europe’s agricultural export garden, were also damaged by heavy rain and flooding. The storm spawned a strange tornado in Valencia and a hailstorm that punctured cars in Andalusia. Homes as far southwest as Málaga in Andalusia had no running water.

Heavy rain continued far north on Thursday, with Spain’s Meteorological Agency issuing warnings for several counties in Castellón, east of Valencia, Tarragona in Catalonia and the southwestern region of Cádiz.

“The storm front is still with us,” the prime minister said. “Staying at home and heeding official advice will help save lives.”

Search continues despite destruction

More than 1,000 soldiers from Spain’s emergency services joined local and regional emergency services to search for bodies and survivors.

“We are searching door to door,” Angel Martinez, a member of the military emergency unit, told Spanish state radio RNE in the town of Utiel, where at least six people were killed.

An Associated Press reporter saw rescuers remove seven body bags from an underground garage in Barrio de la Torre on Thursday.

Many residents of both villages had to walk long distances in sticky mud to find food and water. Many vehicles were destroyed and some roads were rendered impassable due to mud, destruction and debris left behind by the storm. Some people pushed shopping carts along the soggy streets, while others carried children to keep them from falling into the mud.

Valencia regional president Carlos Mazón asked Thursday whether the Spanish military could help distribute basic supplies to residents.

Police arrested 39 people on suspicion of looting on Wednesday. The Civil Defense has deployed officers to prevent further thefts from homes, cars and shopping malls.

Spanish news agency EFE reported that about 150,000 people in Valencia were without electricity on Wednesday, but about half had electricity by Thursday. An unknown number had no running water and were relying on whatever bottled water they could find.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

The area remained partially isolated, with several roads blocked and train lines disrupted, including high-speed services to Madrid. Officials said it would take two to three weeks to repair the damaged line.

A man wept as he showed a reporter for state broadcaster RTVE the shell of what was once the ground floor of his home in Cattaroja, south of Valencia. It looked as if a bomb had exploded inside, removing furniture and belongings and peeling the paint off some of the walls.