SPAIN is enduring its worst flooding disaster in decades, with at least 95 people dead and dozens more missing, after huge rains swept the eastern province of Valencia and beyond.
Torrential rain on Tuesday triggered flash floods which swept away bridges and buildings and forced people to climb on to roofs or cling to trees to survive.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has declared three days of national mourning as the extreme conditions continue, restricting some rescue efforts.
The death toll is feared to climb as “there are many missing people”, the government says.
At least 92 deaths were recorded in Valencia, with another two in Castilla-La Mancha to Valencia’s west and one in Málaga – a 71-year-old British man who died in hospital after being rescued from his home.
The flooding death toll is the country’s worst since 1973, when at least 150 people were estimated to have died in the nation’s worst-ever floods in the south-east.
In his national address on Wednesday, Sánchez urged citizens to remain vigilant and pledged a full recovery, telling victims: “The whole of Spain weeps with you… we won’t abandon you.”
One of the first towns affected near Valencia, Chiva, reported one year’s worth of rainfall on Tuesday in just a period of eight hours, according to national weather agency Aemet.
As Spanish army and emergency crews rushed to carry out rescues on Wednesday morning – including winching people to safety from balconies and car rooftops – survivors in Valencia recounted the horror of the floods on Tuesday night.
Sudden surges turned streets and roads into rivers, catching many motorists unaware.
Guillermo Serrano Pérez, 21, from Paiporta near Valencia, said the water had rushed down a highway “like a tsunami”, forcing him and his parents to abandon their car and climb on to a bridge to survive.
