Spanish rescue teams hunt for missing after deadly floods

Floods kill at least 95; an undeclared number still missing; more weather alerts issued as storm moves north

Spain issued another storm warning on Thursday (October 31, 2024) for part of the Valencia region devastated by floods that have killed at least 95 people, as rescuers scoured flooded fields and stranded cars for those still missing.

Local authorities have not disclosed how many people are still unaccounted for after Europe's deadliest floods in years, but Defence Minister Margarita Robles said late on Wednesday the death toll was likely to rise.

Rescue workers combed the wreckage of vehicles that were caked in mud next to roads or in flooded fields, with some using heavy machinery to clear debris from the streets, television footage showed.

Calm weather returned on Thursday to the hardest-hit areas around the city of Valencia, Spain's third-largest, but the AEMET state weather agency issued its highest level of alert for the province of Castellon. Further north in the Catalonia region, an amber alert was issued for the city of Tarragona.

Meteorologists said a year's worth of rain had fallen in eight hours in parts of Valencia on Tuesday, causing pile-ups on highways and submerging farmland in a region that produces about two-thirds of the citrus fruit grown in Spain, a leading global exporter of oranges.

The storm that caused the torrential downpours has since moved in a northeasterly direction.

"There are already very strong storms in the area, especially in the north of Castellon," AEMET posted on its X account. "The adverse weather continues! Beware!" it added, saying people should not travel to the area.

The floods in Valencia battered the region's infrastructure, sweeping away bridges, roads, railtracks and buildings as rivers burst their banks.

Residents described seeing people clambering onto the roofs of their cars as a churning tide of brown water gushed through the streets, uprooting trees and dragging away chunks of masonry from buildings.

Residents count losses

In the hard-hit rural town of Utiel, some 85 km (53 miles) inland from the city of Valencia, the Magro river burst its banks, sending up to three metres (9.8 feet) of water into homes, most of which are single-storey.

Utiel's mayor, Ricardo Gabaldon, said at least six people had died in the town of about 12,000, most of them elderly or disabled people who were unable to clamber to safety.

Early on Thursday, residents used water pumps carried on tractors as they started the clean-up, with children helping to sweep the sidewalks.

"The sorrow is for the people who have died," said Encarna, a 60-year-old teacher in the town, wiping away tears as she spoke in a flood-ravaged street near her damaged home. "These are my savings, my effort, my life. But we are alive."

The floods have also wrecked crops and killed livestock.

Utiel residents Javier Iranzo, 47, and Ana Carmen Fernandez, 48, told Reuters the flooding had completely wrecked their pig farm, with 50 of their animals having drowned.

They estimated hundreds of thousands of euros worth of damages and, despite government pledges of help, said they worried about whether they would receive state aid to help rebuild.

Published - October 31, 2024 04:02 pm IST