Spain flood disaster shown from space in distressing satellite images

Shocking satellite images have laid bare the true extent of the flood disaster in Spain.

Valencia, on the east coast, was hit by a year’s worth of rain in just eight hours, the country’s national weather agency Aemet said. The deluge caused devastating flash floods, turning streets into rivers, destroying homes and sweeping away vehicles.

At least 158 people have been killed in the flooding disaster - Spain’s worst this century - with rescue workers searching for bodies in stranded cars and sodden buildings.

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Following the flood, the Copernicus Emergency Rapid Mapping Service has been activated to provide satellite imagery to support rescue and recovery efforts. Copernicus is the Earth observation component of the European Union's space programme.

Images from the US Landsat-8 satellite vividly illustrate the scale of the disaster, with observations from 8 October and 30 October showing the dramatic transformation of the landscape.

Meanwhile, an expat teacher living south of Valencia said he was unable to leave his town due to being “surrounded by water” following the flash flooding in the region. John Fahy, 55, who lives in a seaside town called Cullera, reported there being no food in the supermarkets, with no new supplies expected for a while.

“The army was only sent in two, three hours ago, because now they’re finding more bodies in garages,” Mr Fahy, from Dublin, told the PA news agency. “We can’t leave our town because it’s flooded all around.

“There’s no-one in the shops in Cullera because there’s no food and there won’t be for a while.”

Mr Fahy, who works as an economics teacher 30km north of Valencia, was driving home from work on Tuesday when the storm hit the region.

“When I left my work at 5pm, it was hell coming home,” he said. “I was driving through the storm in the slow lane at 80km per hour.

“I wanted to stop, but I couldn’t stop on the highway. I was scared. And there was a truck behind me flashing the lights. He was centimetres away from me. I got home OK, but I was scared.”

Spain’s worst natural disaster in generations has left a trail of destruction, with cars piled on top of one another, uprooted trees and downed power lines. The floods demolished bridges and left roads unrecognisable.

An unknown number of people are still missing and more victims could be found. Some 155 deaths have been confirmed in the eastern Valencia region alone, while two people were killed in the neighbouring Castilla La Mancha region and a British man died in southern Andalusia.

“Unfortunately, there are dead people inside some vehicles,” said Spain’s transport minister Oscar Puente.

An analysis by World Weather Attribution has found that the rainfall was about 12% heavier and twice as likely compared with the 1.3-degree cooler pre-industrial climate. The scientists said that while analysis is not a full and detailed attribution study, climate change is the most likely explanation.

This is due to a warmer atmosphere that can hold more moisture, leading to heavier downpours.