Floods hit Spain’s Valencia: Death toll soars to 158 as more heavy rains expected tonight

Heavy rain continued further north on Thursday, with Spain’s meteorological agency issuing a warning for several counties of Castellon in eastern Valencia, Tarragona in Catalonia and southwestern Cadiz.

“This storm front is still here,” the Prime Minister warned. “Staying at home and following government advice could save lives.”

Alba Paredes Borja is from Alfafal, Spain. The town was one of the areas hardest hit by the deadly storm, and local authorities are appealing for emergency aid with food, water and medical supplies.

“I’m scared. Everything looks apocalyptic,” she said. Independent. The flood, known as the “cold drop” or DANA phenomenon, claimed the lives of 158 people, including at least three in the city, leaving the city in ruins and cutting off all communications.

The tragedy is already the worst flood-related disaster in Spain’s modern history, and meteorologists say human-induced climate change is making such extreme weather events more frequent and destructive.

At least 185 people died in severe floods in Germany in 2021. Before that, 209 people died in Romania in 1970, and nearly 500 people died in the 1967 floods in Portugal.

Research group Climate Central said in a report Thursday that the low pressure system behind Spain’s flooding is flowing into an “atmospheric river” carrying excess moisture from the unusually warm tropical Atlantic Ocean.

According to the Climate Change Index: Oceans, human-induced climate change is likely to increase sea surface temperatures by at least 50 to 300 times.

Rescue teams continue to search for people missing after devastating flash floods in eastern Spain. The flooding could be Europe’s worst storm-related disaster in more than 50 years.

The death toll from the extreme weather rose to 158 on Thursday after parts of the Valencian region received a year’s worth of rain in eight hours two days ago.

“To the total of 158, we have to add dozens more missing people,” Spain’s minister for regional cooperation, Ángel Víctor Torres, told a news conference.

Shortly after the torrential waters crashed through the door of her home, Mari Carmen Perez received a text message from local authorities in Spain warning of a possible flash flood.

By the time Perez’s phone rang, water had already poured into the kitchen, living room and bathroom, forcing her and her family to evacuate to the second floor.

“They had no idea what was going on,” Perez, a 56-year-old cleaner, said by phone from Valencia’s Barrio de la Torre on Thursday. “Everything is ruined. People here, we’ve never seen anything like this.”

Tuesday’s heavy rains, dubbed the “flood of the century”, left large areas of southern and eastern Spain completely devastated by torrents of muddy water.

The region is known to be particularly vulnerable to heavy autumn rains caused by a weather phenomenon known as “cold drop” or DANA.

But the destructive weather systems are thought to be worsening in the wake of climate change, and this week’s flash floods were the worst in the region in 30 years.

From weather phenomena to flood defenses: here’s what may have accelerated Spain’s deadly flash floods.

As of October 31st, the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCDO) travel advisory states that travel may be affected due to severe weather and flooding affecting many areas of southern and eastern Spain, particularly the Valencia region and Castilla-La Mancha. It was announced that there is a possibility of leaving.

The FCDO advises people to check the latest weather warnings from the Spanish Meteorological Agency before traveling and to follow instructions from local authorities.

Regarding the Foreign Office’s general advice on traveling to destinations affected by flooding, it warns that flooding can cause devastation and loss of life. They also warn that the risk of waterborne diseases will increase after flooding and transport infrastructure could be severely affected.

european meteorological bureau give advice Travel only if it is essential to travel to Castellon’s southern and northern coasts and Castellon’s northern interior.

“Extreme or catastrophic damage to people and property may occur, particularly to vulnerable populations and those living in at-risk areas,” they wrote.

Weather warnings have been issued across Spain as further storms approach in the wake of devastating floods that claimed at least 158 ​​lives and became the country’s worst natural disaster in living memory.

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on Thursday declared Valencia a “disaster zone” and warned that the devastation caused by flash floods was “not over yet”. He urged residents to stay at home, saying: “The most important thing at this time is to save as many lives as possible.”

Cities such as Valencia and Malaga were flooded this week after nearly a year’s worth of rain (nearly half a meter) fell in just eight hours in some areas, leaving residents with “rats” in their homes and cars. “Trapped like that,” said a desperate official. The local mayor looks back on the chaos.

Spanish police have arrested 39 people on suspicion of looting stores during flash floods.

Thieves took advantage of the chaos caused by deadly floods, with Spanish National Police releasing shocking images of smashed jewelery store windows alongside tons of goods taken by looters.