Floods in Spain’s Valencia Region Kill More Than 60

About 1,000 soldiers from emergency response units deployed to the affected areas, and the death toll was expected to rise after one of the worst natural disasters to hit the country in recent years.

At least 64 people have died and others were missing after devastating flash floods hit eastern Spain, according to the local authorities, in one of the worst natural disasters to hit the country in recent years.

The catastrophic floods, fueled by an unrelenting deluge that began on Monday, washed away cars, inundated homes and knocked out power across eastern Spain. Rescuers waded through neck-high waters to reach some residents.

In the town of Chiva in the eastern Valencia region, practically a year’s worth of rain fell over eight hours, Spain’s meteorological agency said on Wednesday, illustrating the ferocity of the storm. Other areas across the south and east saw more than a month’s worth of rain in less than 24 hours.

The severity of the disaster became more apparent on Wednesday as the regional authorities confirmed that 62 people had died in the Valencia region, where the storm battered cities, villages and towns along the mountainous coastline.

Two other people died in the neighboring province of Castile-La Mancha, where at least five other people were missing in the municipality of Albacete, local officials said.

More remain missing, but the authorities in Valencia said that they could not give an exact figure. A phone line was set up to report missing people, they added, and residents were urged not to travel in the area. The death toll, officials said, was expected to rise.

More than 1,000 soldiers from an emergency response team were sent to respond to the disaster, officials said, sharing videos of some people being airlifted from flooded areas into helicopters or waiting on rooftops.

Widespread areas appeared almost entirely submerged, and dozens of cars piled up in the flooding’s aftermath, according to footage released by the Civil Guard. Some buildings were reduced to sodden rubble.

The damage to roads and bridges left rescuers struggling to reach some areas, officials said on Wednesday. The overflowing ravines and strong winds also damaged infrastructure supplying telecommunications and power in the region. About 155,000 customers were left without power, according to Iberdrola, an energy provider in Valencia, adding that workers were encountering difficulties in restoring service.

Highways leading to the region’s capital, also named Valencia, were littered with debris and covered with mud, according to footage from local media, and the subway was flooded. Regional trains on Wednesday were halted, and schools were closed in several places.

The Spanish Parliament on Wednesday held a minute of silence to mourn the victims. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez vowed in an address to help the flood-struck regions recover. “Together we are going to rebuild your streets, your squares, your bridges,” he said from Madrid. “All Spain cries with you,” he added.

The deluge is not yet over: More rain was expected on Wednesday, with Spain’s meteorological agency raising an emergency alert for the Valencia region to the highest level. A popular tourist destination, Valencia is also known for its bustling agricultural industry, which grows citrus and other fruits and vegetables.

Though storms are typical during the fall in Spain, local residents were shocked at the sheer amount of rain: more than 70 gallons per square yard in some villages. In the village of Chiva, more than 100 gallons per square yard of rain fell in eight hours, practically a year’s worth, Spain’s meteorological agency said.

The agency added that it expected some 40 gallons per square yard of rain before 6 p.m. local time on Wednesday over parts of Valencia, Andalusia and Murcia. The storm was moving toward the north and northwest of Spain, with rain expected to continue until at least Thursday.

Flooding is a complex phenomenon and while linking climate change to a single flood event requires extensive scientific analysis, scientists have said that climate change is causing heavier rainfall in many storms. Warmer atmosphere holds, and releases, more water.

Meteorologists have said that the rainfall in Spain is most likely the result of a sudden “cold drop,” known in Spanish as a “gota fría.” That happens when cold air moves over the warm waters of the Mediterranean Sea, allowing the hotter, moist air at the surface to rise quickly and producing giant rain clouds. Then, the storm system pushes these moisture-rich clouds over land.

The Mediterranean is also getting hotter, which is making such rainfalls more violent and more frequent. In August, the sea hit its highest recorded temperature.

The record rainfall that led to devastating floods in Belgium and Germany in the summer of 2021 was made much more likely by global warming, scientists have determined.

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