MONITORING (SW) – Spanish rescuers are scrambling to save people trapped by surging tides of muddy water in floods that killed at least 95 people, tossed cars and wreaked transport havoc.
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez urged citizens to remain vigilant as the danger persisted and three days of mourning were declared in the European nation’s worst such disaster in more than 50 years.
Heavy downpours and fierce winds have lashed Spain since the beginning of the week after a storm formed over the Mediterranean Sea, with up to a year’s worth of rain falling in just hours in some areas, reported wires.
The body coordinating emergency services in the eastern Valencia region announced a provisional death toll of 92, adding that bodies were still being recovered and identified.
Stunned residents attempted to clean the sludge and grabbed buckets to bail out water from their homes ahead of a long night without water or electricity.
According to Spain’s weather service AEMET, the town of Chiva, west of Valencia, recorded 491mm of rain in just eight hours on Tuesday — almost equaling a year’s worth.
Mr. Sanchez said the government’s “absolute priority” was to help the victims.
“All of Spain weeps with all of you … we won’t abandon you,” he said in a televised address.
The disaster could not be considered over and “we will deploy all the necessary resources for as long as necessary so that we can recover from this tragedy”, he added.
King Felipe VI said he was “devastated” by the news on X and offered “heartfelt condolences” to families of the victims, thanking emergency services for their “titanic” response.
Damage to telephone networks and flooded roads were hampering efforts to reach stricken communities in the Valencia region.
Some 155,000 homes are without electricity in Valencia region due to the storm, energy company Iberdrola said, adding that it had dispatched 500 workers to restore power there.
Defense Minister Margarita Robles told reporters more than 1000 troops backed by helicopters were being deployed in the face of “an unprecedented phenomenon”.
The European Union activated its Copernicus satellite system to help co-ordinate Spanish rescue teams, commission chief Ursula von der Leyen told a news conference in Brussels.
The bloc has also offered to use its civil protection mechanism to send further reinforcements, she said.
