At least 64 people die in devastating floods in eastern Spain

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — At least 64 people have died in eastern Spain after flash floods swept away cars, turned village streets into rivers and disrupted railway lines and highways in the worst natural disaster to hit the European country in recent history.

Rain showers that started on Tuesday and continued overnight caused flooding across much of southern and eastern Spain, stretching from Malaga to Valencia. Muddy streams sent vehicles tumbling through the streets at high speed, while pieces of wood containing household items fluttered into the water. Police and rescue services used helicopters to lift people from their homes and rubber boats to reach drivers trapped on the roofs of cars.

Emergency services in the eastern region of Valencia confirmed a death toll of 62 people on Wednesday. Another two victims were reported in the neighboring region of Castilla La Mancha.

Searchers tried to find survivors and victims, and scores of people are still missing. The Spanish government said it will declare three days of mourning from Thursday for those killed in devastating flash floods.

“For those who are looking for their loved ones, all of Spain feels your pain,” Sánchez said in a televised address. “Our priority is to help you. We are deploying all the resources necessary so that we can recover from this tragedy.”

People, some with their belongings, walk through flooded streets in Valencia, Wednesday, October 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)

Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS/ALberto Saiz

Authorities reported several people missing late Tuesday, but the next morning came the shocking announcement of dozens of deaths.

“Yesterday was the worst day of my life,” Ricardo Gabaldón, the mayor of Utiel, a town in Valencia, told national broadcaster RTVE. He said six residents of his town had been killed and several more were missing.

“We were trapped like rats. Cars and dumpsters flooded the streets. The water rose to 3 meters,” he said.

More than 1,000 soldiers from the Spanish emergency response units were deployed in the devastated areas. Rescue services also rushed east from other parts of Spain. Spain’s central government has set up a crisis committee to help coordinate rescue efforts.

The elderly were the most vulnerable. RTVE showed a video of a nursing home with several seniors in chairs and wheelchairs, water rising over their knees as staff struggled to ensure their safety. Elsewhere, an elderly couple were rescued from the top floor of their home by a military unit using a bulldozer, with three soldiers accompanying them in the huge shovel.

Television reports showed videos taken by panicked residents showing water flooding the ground floors of apartment buildings, streams bursting their banks and bridges collapsing. People could be heard gasping as they pointed to what they feared were bodies floating in the swift brown tide.

Spain’s national weather service called the rainfall “extraordinary”, with 491 liters per square meter falling in eight hours in the Valencian town of Chiva.

Spain has experienced similar autumn storms in recent years. Nothing compared to the devastation of the past two days, reminiscent of the 2021 floods in Germany and Belgium that killed 230 people.

The death toll is likely to rise as other regions are yet to report casualties and search efforts continue in difficult-to-access areas.

In the village of Letur in the neighboring region of Castilla La Mancha, mayor Sergio Marín Sánchez said six people were missing.

Spain is still recovering from a severe drought and continues to record record high temperatures in recent years. Scientists say increased episodes of extreme weather are likely linked to climate change.

The prolonged drought has also made it more difficult for the land to absorb large amounts of water.

The storms produced a freak hailstorm that punched holes in car windows and greenhouses, as well as a rarely seen tornado.

Transport was also affected. A high-speed train with almost 300 people on board derailed near Malaga, although rail authorities said no one was injured. The high-speed train between the city of Valencia and Madrid was disrupted, as were commuter lines.

Valencian regional president Carlos Mazón called on people to stay at home as road travel is already difficult due to fallen trees and destroyed vehicles. Rescue efforts were hampered, Mazón said, by downed power lines that left areas without electricity, while phone lines were jammed with calls. He said the regional emergency service had attended about 30,000 calls.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told reporters in Brussels that the EU will help by deploying its Copernicus geomonitoring satellite system “to help coordinate the rescue teams.”

The European Union leader said the bloc stands ready to activate a civil protection mechanism that would provide the combined assistance of the other 26 member states, should Spain request help.

“Europe is ready to help,” said Von der Leyen.

As the water fell, thick layers of mud mixed with garbage made the streets unrecognizable.

“The neighborhood is destroyed, all the cars are on top of each other, it is literally destroyed,” Christian Viena, a cafe owner in the Valencian village of Barrio de la Torre, said by telephone. “Everything is a total wreck, everything is ready to be thrown away. The mud is almost a foot deep.”

Outside Vienna’s bar, people ventured out to see what they could salvage. Cars were piled up and the streets were filled with clumps of water-soaked branches.

Relatives of the missing filled social media and local television and radio channels with calls to find their loved ones.

Leonardo Enrique told RTVE that his family had searched for hours for his son, Leonardo Enrique Rivera, 40, who was driving a van when it started to rain. His son had sent a message saying his van was flooded and he had been hit by another vehicle while he was near Ribarroja, an industrial town that has been one of the hardest hit, Enrique said.

Located south of Barcelona on the Mediterranean Sea, Valencia is a tourist destination known for its beaches, citrus groves and home of the Spanish paella rice dish.

Like some other parts of Spain, Valencia has gorges and small riverbeds that are completely dry for much of the year, but quickly fill with water when it rains. Many of them pass through populated areas.

By late Wednesday morning, rain had eased in Valencia as the storm moved north, prompting authorities in the Barcelona region to issue weather warnings.

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Medrano reported from Madrid. Associated Press journalist Lorne Cook in Brussels contributed.

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