Spain’s latest floods: Airport flooded, 70 flights canceled, Barcelona placed on highest alert

Catalan police posted a video of a man desperately trying to rescue a man trapped in a car in Bay Llobregat, a coastal area just south of Barcelona.

On Monday morning, the Catalan Civil Protection Agency issued a mobile phone alert to residents of Bai Llobregat, Barcelona, ​​Garraf, Maresme, Valles Occidental, Valles Oriental and Selva counties, restricting their movement and asking them not to travel to riverbanks or valleys. I asked them not to get close.

The first message was issued at 8:30 a.m. in Bais Llobregat, before hours of heavy rain affected surrounding areas.

Spain’s Agriculture Ministry has removed more than 2,950 animal carcasses from farms in areas affected by flash floods.

Local authorities removed carcasses of animals including pigs, sheep, horses and poultry from 17 farms in the town of Valencia.

Spanish public health experts warned of imminent health risks from stagnant floodwaters and decomposing bodies.

The Ministry of Health insists that water contamination by animal and human carcasses is not a public health problem at this time.

However, residents remain at high risk of gastrointestinal illness from drinking contaminated water, injuries from debris, and a proliferation of disease-spreading mosquitoes.

Public health associations, emergency response teams and NGOs are currently working on the ground to ensure the safety and hygiene of residents in the most affected areas, including Paiporta and Chiva in Valencia.

Dozens more deaths are feared, and health authorities have urged local authorities to speed up searches for bodies and clean-up efforts to prevent further risks.

In Valencia, searches continue for bodies inside homes and thousands of wrecked cars strewn on the streets, highways and canals that brought last week’s floods to the populated area.

Spain’s Interior Minister Fernando Grande Marlasca said authorities still could not give a reliable estimate of the number of missing people. In the city of Aldaya, about 50 soldiers, police and firefighters in wetsuits searched for victims in the underground parking lot of a huge shopping center.

They used small boats and spotlights to navigate the massive structure, where vehicles were submerged in at least a meter of murky water.

Police spokesman Ricardo Gutierrez told reporters that about 50 vehicles have been recovered so far, but no bodies have been found.

Bonaire shopping mall’s 1,800 underground parking lot quickly filled with water and mud on Tuesday and Wednesday, when Valencia’s southern suburbs were hit by tsunami-like flooding. The team uses four pumps to remove the water.

Public anger is growing over the disaster, which has left at least 217 people dead and dozens still missing. Almost all of the deaths occurred in the Valencia region, with more than 60 on the outskirts of Paiporta.

Defense Minister Margarita Robles told state radio RNE that the military will deploy around 5,000 soldiers over the weekend to help distribute food and water, clean streets and guard against looters, with 2,500 more expected to join. That’s what he said.

A warship carrying 104 Marine infantrymen and trucks carrying food and water arrived at the port of Valencia as a severe hailstorm battered Barcelona, ​​some 300 kilometers (186 miles) north.

The terrifying storm that hit Barcelona has caused 70 departures to be canceled at Barcelona El Prat Airport and a further 18 to have been diverted, operator Aena has announced.

Heavy rain caused flooding in major areas such as the T-1 terminal and parking lot. Passengers are restricted from accessing the area, but airport officials continue to clear water and restore normal operations.

Aena said the storm significantly disrupted all activity at the airport, forcing air traffic controllers to space out plane departures, resulting in “significant” delays.

Passengers are urged to check the status of their flights online and prepare for potential delays as airports continue to respond to the effects of flooding.