When the water level began to rise, Francisco Murgui went out to try to save his motorcycle.
He never returned.
A week after the catastrophic floods that devastated eastern Spain, María Murgui still holds out hope that her father is alive.
“He went out, like most people from the affected towns, to take his motorcycle or his car,” the 27-year-old told The Associated Press. “The flood caught him outside and in the end he had to grab a tree because he had to save himself. And he called us saying that, that he was fine, that he was in a tree, that we should not worry.”
But when María went out into the streets of Sedaví to try to rescue him from the water that was destroying everything in its path, she couldn’t find him anywhere.
“He held on until 1 in the morning,” she said. “At 2 in the morning I went out to look for him with a neighbor who accompanied me with a rope. But we don’t know anything, we haven’t found it.”
Spanish authorities issued their first count of the missing on Tuesday, and a court in Valencia confirmed that there are 89 people who have not yet been located.
The figure only corresponds to the eastern region of Valencia, where 211 of the 217 confirmed deaths were recorded after entire communities were devastated by flash floods on October 29 and 30. The flood took most of the population by surprise. Regional authorities have received strong criticism for having sent alerts via cell phone about two hours after the disaster began.
The Superior Court of Justice of Valencia said the figure was based on cases in which families had provided information and biological samples of their unlocated loved ones. He added that there could easily be more missing people whose relatives have not filed a formal report with authorities.
The court said 133 of the deceased were identified through fingerprints or DNA samples. Another 62 bodies remain unidentified.
State television station RTVE constantly broadcasts calls from residents searching for their missing relatives.
María Murgui herself has published a photo of her father, a 57-year-old retiree, on social networks.
“It’s like riding a roller coaster. Sometimes good, sometimes bad (…) because you want to be positive,” she said. “This is really crazy. We don’t know much what to do anymore, no one from the town.”
Central government approves aid package
Meanwhile, the enormous recovery efforts in Sedaví and dozens of communities are advancing slowly.
The central government on Tuesday approved a 10.6 billion euro ($11.6 billion) aid package for 78 communities where at least one person has died from flooding. The president of the Spanish government, Pedro Sánchez, compared it to the measures that were implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The package includes direct payments of between 20,000 and 60,000 euros for owners of damaged homes, among other financial aid for companies and municipal governments.
“We have a lot of work to do, and we know it,” Sánchez said.
Sánchez said he will ask for the support of the European Union to help pay for the aid, ensuring that “it is time for the European Union to help.”
Residents still without basic products amid devastation
The floods have left post-apocalyptic scenes.
In town after town, the streets remain covered in thick, smelly brown sludge and piles of ruined belongings, masses of rotting vegetation and wrecked vehicles.
In many places, people are still suffering from shortages of basic products, with long lines forming at makeshift emergency kitchens and food stands. Running water service has been restored, but officials say it is not safe to drink.
The ground floors of thousands of homes have been ruined. It is feared that inside some of the vehicles that the water swept away or trapped in underground garages there may be more bodies waiting to be recovered.
Thousands of soldiers work with firefighters and police reinforcements in the immense emergency operation. Agents and soldiers inspect destroyed homes, and inside the countless vehicles that have been scattered on highways and streets or trapped in the mud in canals and ravines.
Authorities are concerned about other health problems that could arise as a result of the worst natural disaster in Spain’s recent history. They have urged the population to get vaccinated against tetanus, treat any wounds to prevent infection and clean mud from their skin. Many people wear masks.
Thousands of volunteers are helping. But frustration over the management of the crisis boiled over on Sunday when a crowd in Paiporta, a hard-hit town, threw mud and other objects at the kings, Sánchez and other regional officials during their first visit to the epicenter of the catastrophe.
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