Catastrophic flooding in Spain kills at least 95 people

More than a year’s worth of rain fell overnight, washing away bridges and flooding towns.

At least 95 people have died after devastating flash floods in southeastern Spain, as emergency responders and dog teams searched thick mud and landslides for survivors.

Torrential rains hammered towns across a vast swath of the country overnight, with some areas seeing more than a year’s worth of rainfall in just eight hours.

Note: as of Oct. 30, 1:00 a.m. local time Source: NASA/The Wall Street Journal

Footage from the Valencia region, the worst hit, showed people clinging to trees to avoid the raging floodwaters. Bridges were destroyed and cars and some smaller structures swept away by muddy brown waters.

The storm, which covers almost half of the country, was impacting areas from the Strait of Gibraltar in the southwest to Barcelona and the Catalonia region in the northeast. Intense rains are expected to last until Sunday, the weather service said.

As office workers in Barcelona were sent home early, rescue teams in the south waited to search for bodies in the thick mud.

In Chiva, west of the city of Valencia, more than 12.5 inches of rain fell in just over four hours overnight, according to the European Severe Weather Database.

The Valencia region usually averages around 3 inches for the entire month of October.

People navigated mud-covered streets in Picanya, Spain. Picture: Jose Jordan/AFP

Carlos Mazón, president of the regional government of Valencia, said the current death toll was provisional, and expected to rise.

“These are very difficult hours for relatives and for the disappeared,” Mazón said Wednesday. “We will confirm the number of victims over the coming hours but right now it’s impossible to offer a precise figure. We’re in shock.” The death toll included children, several elderly people in a nursing home, two state police officers and at least one firefighter, the regional government said.

A resident stands next to bags on the pavement following deadly floods in Alfafar neighbourhood, south of Valencia. Picture: Manuare Quintero/AFP

By midmorning Wednesday, the storm had largely subsided in Valencia, but heavy rain was expected across the country for several days.

In a news conference, Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez thanked emergency teams working on the rescue effort.

“Our thoughts are also with those who have seen their homes flooded, their belongings destroyed, their lives covered by mud,” Sánchez said.

“To the towns and cities destroyed by this tragedy I say: United we are going to rebuild your streets, your squares, your bridges. All of Spain is and will be with you.” Sánchez’s office said he would visit the Valencia region Wednesday but those plans were later changed to Thursday. Road and rail networks across the region have been severely disrupted by the flooding.

In Paiporta and Picanya, two towns south of the city of Valencia, scores of people were still missing, Paiporta Mayor Maribel Albalat said.

Pedestrians stand next to piled up cars in Sedavi, south of Valencia. Picture: Jose Jordan / AFP

Residents in some areas had started stockpiling bottled water and other essentials. Shelves in some supermarkets had been emptied of bottled water, while authorities in the region moved to reassure people that tap water supplies were secure.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the European Union was offering assistance.

“What we’re seeing in Spain is devastating,” she said. “My thoughts are with the victims, their families and the rescue teams.”

The intense rains were caused by a bubble of cold air more than 600 miles across moving over the warm waters of the Mediterranean Sea, said Richard Allan, a professor of climate science at the University of Reading. “This funneled huge quantities of moisture up over Spanish mountains leading to sustained and intense rainfall and severe flash flooding,” he said.

The Wall Street Journal