Death toll rises to 205 people killed in Spain flooding
by Sarah Hooper · MetroAt least 205 people have died in Spain’s worst flooding disaster in modern history, according to the latest update from local authorities.
Homes and streets were devastated after a year’s worth of rain fell in one day on Tuesday, following a two-year drought which left the ground hard and unabsorbent.
The resulting muddy deluge left cars piled on top of each other, uprooted trees, downed power lines and burst into homes.
Rescuers continue to search the Valencia region, which bore the brunt of the disaster, but hopes of finding more survivors are dwindling.
Spain’s government is urging people in affected areas to ‘stay home’ after meteoroligists warned people in four regions, including Valencia, are at risk from further ‘strong storms’.
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November 1, 2024 12:05 pm
Hundreds volunteer to help flood-stricken areas
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An aid centre in Valencia has received hundreds of volunteers to help the area recover from the floods.
At least 158 people were killed in the flooding, most of them in the area surrounding the city.
The volunteers were seen carrying items such as bottles of water, tinned food, shovels and brooms.
Reme Montero, 59, who travelled from nearby Manises, told Reuters: ‘Any help is needed. This is a catastrophe.’
November 1, 2024 11:17 am
People are ‘living with corpses at home’, mayor says
Residents in communities like Paiporta, where at least 62 people died, and Catarroja, have been walking miles to Valencia to get provisions, passing neighbours from unaffected areas who are bringing water, essential products or shovels to help remove the mud.
Juan Ramon Adsuara, the mayor of Alfafar, one of the hardest hit towns, said the aid is not nearly enough for residents trapped in an ‘extreme situation’.
‘There are people living with corpses at home. It’s very sad. We are organising ourselves, but we are running out of everything,’ he told reporters.
‘We go with vans to Valencia, we buy and we come back, but here we are totally forgotten.’
November 1, 2024 11:06 am
Latest death toll
So far 158 bodies have been recovered, 155 in Valencia, two in the Castilla La Mancha region and one more in Andalusia, after Spain’s deadliest natural disaster in living memory.
The security forces and soldiers are searching for an unknown number of missing people, many feared to still be trapped in wrecked vehicles or flooded garages.
Authorities are repeating over and over, more storms are expected. The Spanish weather agency issued alerts for strong rains in Tarragona, Catalonia, and part of the Balearic Islands.
November 1, 2024 10:53 am
Death toll expected to rise as rescue workers find more bodies
The death toll from the floods has topped 150, Spanish authorities said, and is likely to increase as workers search for the missing.
Many streets are still blocked by piled-up vehicles and debris, in some cases trapping residents in their homes.
Some places still do not have electricity, running water or stable telephone connections.
November 1, 2024 10:40 am
Off-duty police officer holds onto flood survivor for three hours with a bedsheet
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This the extraordinary moment a hero off-duty police officer saved a Spanish flood survivor by holding onto her for more than three hours with ropes made out of bed sheets.
Daniel Garcia rescued two people including an elderly woman living below his flat in Benetusser near Valencia.
November 1, 2024 10:15 am
Residents running out of medicine third day after floods
The situation is still dire in many towns, three days after floods ravaged much of Valencia.
A resident of Alfafar, Spain, which has been decimated by the floods, told state television: ‘There are a lot of elderly people who don’t have medicine.
‘There are children who don’t have food. We don’t have milk, we don’t have water.
‘We have no access to anything. No-one even came to warn us on the first day.’
November 1, 2024 10:05 am
Supermarket shelves empty as residents stockpile food
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November 1, 2024 10:03 am
More rain forecast for Valencia today
November 1, 2024 9:50 am
‘No warning’ before deadly floods, resident says
62-year-old Juan Vicente Perez told Sky News there was ‘no warning at all’ about the flash flooding and it ‘caught everyone by surprise’.
He said: ‘In these circumstances I don’t think anyone could have done anything. It was something out of the ordinary, something we have never seen.’
November 1, 2024 9:44 am
Horrifying footage shows someone swept away in floodwater
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November 1, 2024 9:36 am
Widespread damage across Valencia as cleanup efforts underway
Rushing water turned narrow streets into death traps and spawned rivers that tore through homes and businesses, sweeping away cars, people and everything else in its path.
The floods demolished bridges and left roads unrecognisable.
Luis Sanchez, a welder, said he saved several people who were trapped in their cars on the flooded V-31 highway south of Valencia city.
The road rapidly became a floating graveyard strewn with hundreds of vehicles.
November 1, 2024 9:28 am
Satellite view of flood damage
November 1, 2024 9:18 am
Electricity slowly coming back across Valencia
Some 150,000 people in Valencia were without electricity on Wednesday, but roughly half had power by Thursday.
An unknown number did not have running water and were relying on whatever bottled water they could find.
November 1, 2024 9:12 am
Clean up efforts begin
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With emergency personnel focused on recovering the dead, survivors were left to find basic supplies and clean up the mess.
Volunteers joined locals in moving wrecked vehicles, removing junk and sweeping mud.
With local services clearly overwhelmed, Valencia regional President Carlos Mazon on Thursday asked if Spain’s army could assist with distributing basic goods to the population.
The government in Madrid responded by promising to send in 500 more soldiers, more national police and Civil Guards.
But necessity – and the post-apocalyptic atmosphere – prompted some to enter abandoned stores.
November 1, 2024 9:02 am
Watch: moment entire bridge is washed away in floods
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November 1, 2024 9:01 am
Ex-Valencia star José Castillejo, 28, killed in Spanish floods
Former Valencia footballer Jose Castillejo has died as a result of the flash floods that have devastated the Spanish city.
Flash flooding has hit eastern Spain with a year of rain falling in one day. 150 deaths have been confirmed in the Valencia region with 28-year-old Castillejo among them.
‘Valencia CF mourn the passing of José Castillejo, casualty of the flash floodings,’ a statement read. ‘José Castillejo came up through the [club’s] youth system up to U18 level and played for others teams in the region.’
November 1, 2024 8:43 am
Spain in ‘mourning’ after devastating floods
Rescuers are continuing searches for survivors – and bodies – after the historic floods across Spain this week.
A journalist saw rescuers remove seven body bags from an underground garage in Barrio de la Torre.
‘Our priority is to find the victims and the missing so we can help end the suffering of their families,’ Spanish prime minister Pedro Sanchez said.
Spain has declared three official days of mourning, with the first beginning yesterday (Thursday).
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