Spain is currently experiencing its most severe flooding in decades, with a reported 95 fatalities and many individuals still missing after intense rainfall swept the eastern province of Valencia and surrounding areas.
On Tuesday, intense rainfall led to catastrophic flash floods that destroyed bridges and buildings, prompting survivors to seek refuge on rooftops or in trees.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has announced three days of national mourning in response to the ongoing severe weather, which has hampered some rescue operations.
The government fears the death toll may climb as “there are many missing people.”
The majority of the fatalities, 92, occurred in Valencia, with additional deaths reported in Castilla-La Mancha to the west and in Málaga, where a 71-year-old British man passed away in a hospital after his rescue.
This disaster marks the deadliest flooding event in Spain since 1973 when floods in the southeast are believed to have killed at least 150 people.
In a televised address on Wednesday, Sánchez called for vigilance and committed to a comprehensive recovery effort, assuring the victims, “The whole of Spain weeps with you… we won’t abandon you.”
Chiva, one of the earliest towns to be hit near Valencia, recorded a year’s worth of rain in just eight hours on Tuesday, as reported by the national weather service Aemet.
On Wednesday morning, Spanish military and emergency teams were deployed swiftly, executing dramatic rescues of individuals from balconies and the tops of cars, as survivors in Valencia shared terrifying accounts of the flood’s impact the previous night.
The sudden deluge transformed roads and streets into waterways, unexpectedly trapping many drivers.
Guillermo Serrano Pérez, a 21-year-old resident of Paiporta close to Valencia, described how the floodwaters surged down a highway “like a tsunami,” prompting him and his family to flee their vehicle and seek safety on a nearby bridge.
Another incident involved drivers on a motorway forming a human chain to flee an approaching flood, moving along an elevated central divider.
“Thank goodness no one slipped because if anyone had fallen, the current would have carried them away,” recounted Patricia Rodriguez, 45, in an interview with El País newspaper.
In Spain, there is widespread criticism that disaster response was inadequately slow, preventing timely evacuations and safe relocations.
The civil protection agency, responsible during national crises, issued an alert at 20:15 local time on Tuesday, although Chiva and several other towns had already been flooded for hours.
There’s also controversy surrounding the regional government of Valencia’s decision to dismantle the Valencia Emergency Unit, previously established to address natural disasters like floods and wildfires.