At least 95 people die in devastating floods in Spain

Spain’s national weather service said it rained more in Valencia in eight hours than in the previous 20 months, calling the deluge “extraordinary.”

Located south of Barcelona on the Mediterranean Sea, Valencia is a tourist destination known for its beaches, citrus groves and as the origin of the rice dish, paella. The region has gorges and small riverbeds that are completely dry for much of the year, but quickly fill with water when it rains. Many of them pass through populated areas.

As the flooding subsided, thick layers of mud mixed with rubbish made some streets unrecognizable.

“The neighborhood is destroyed, all the cars are stacked on top of each other, it is literally destroyed,” Christian Viena, a cafe owner in the Valencian village of Barrio de la Torre, said by telephone. ”Everything is a total wreck, everything is ready to be thrown away. The mud is almost 30 centimeters deep.”

Outside Vienna’s bar, people ventured out to see what they could salvage. Cars were piled up and the streets were filled with clumps of water-soaked branches.

Spain has experienced similar autumn storms in recent years. Nothing compared to the devastation of the past two days, reminiscent of the 2021 floods in Germany and Belgium that killed 230 people.