The devastating flash floods that struck eastern Spain earlier this week has led to an escalating death count of 158. The true magnitude of this weather disaster became fully visible as the week progressed.
The Mediterranean region of Valencia bore the brunt of the destruction, together with parts of the adjacent regions of Castilla-La Mancha and Andalucía, especially on Tuesday and Wednesday. On Thursday, rescue teams were still engaged in locating numerous flooded victims who were still unaccounted for.
“The main emphasis at this time is to locate the missing victims and alleviate the distress and suffering of their families,” expressed the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez. His administration has categorised the affected regions as disaster zones, expediting aid deployment.
In significant sections of Valencia, the streets are inundated with rubble and mud. Cars are toppled and accumulated in heaps. Drinking water is a rarity in some places and thousands of residences are still without power.
About 150 roadways were still cut off. Train services are also drastically impacted and it’s estimated that the high-speed railway connection from Madrid to Valencia will be non-operational for the next two to three weeks.
Eight victims from the town of La Torre were among the recently reported deaths, whose corpses were found in a garage from which they couldn’t escape the floodwaters.
Residents from heavily drained areas have expressed their dissatisfaction over the lack of aid from government officials.
The Mayor of Alfafar, Juan Ramón Adsuara, informed local newspapers that citizens “are living next to dead bodies in their homes”. He confirmed that emergency relief has not yet arrived at the location and said, “We’re doing our best to organise, but resources are depleting”.
Around 39 individuals were arrested for looting from shops on Wednesday night.
“Paiporta became emblematic of this catastrophe. It has accounted for 45 deaths and is still grappling with the aftereffects of the flood”.
The regional government of Valencia is under fire for not providing timely warnings, only alerting locals via mobile communications on Tuesday night when the floodwater levels were already escalating.
By Thursday evening, the rainfall had spread to the southwest, forcing 300 families in Jerez to evacuate their homes as the Guadalete river began to surge.