Spain sends another 10,000 soldiers and police to the flooded Valencia region

Spain’s deadliest natural disaster in living memory has left 211 dead, while dozens are still missing.

Spain is sending 5,000 extra soldiers and 5,000 extra police to the eastern region of Valencia following deadly floods this week, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has announced.

In a televised address on Saturday, Sanchez said the disaster was the second-deadliest flood in Europe this century and that Spain carried out the largest deployment of military and security personnel in peacetime.

At least 211 people have died, including 202 in Valencia alone, in Spain’s deadliest natural disaster in living memory.

Rescuers were still searching for bodies in stranded cars and soaked buildings on Saturday, four days after monstrous flash floods swept away everything in their path in eastern Spain. An unknown number of people are still missing.

Thousands of volunteers are helping to clear the thick mud covering streets, homes and businesses in the hardest-hit cities.

Volunteers walk in the mud to help with the clean-up operation after flooding in Massanassa, just outside Valencia, Spain, Saturday, November 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz) — Volunteers walk in the mud to help with the clean-up operation after flooding in Massanassa, just outside Valencia, Spain, on November 2, 2024 (Alberto Saiz/AP Photo)

Dozens are still missing

Authorities have faced criticism over the effectiveness of pre-flood warning systems, with opposition politicians accusing the central government in Madrid of acting too slowly to warn residents and send rescue teams.

“There is a sense of anger that people have been abandoned here,” said Al Jazeera’s Sonia Gallego, reporting from Paiporta, one of the worst-hit areas on the outskirts of Valencia.

“This neighborhood, which is just half an hour from Valencia city center, was completely cut off – no water, no electricity, hardly any telecommunications,” she added.

Prime Minister Sánchez said: “I am aware that the response is not enough, there are problems and serious shortages… cities buried under mud, desperate people looking for their relatives.”

Susana Camarero, deputy head of the Valencia region, said on Saturday that essential supplies had been delivered “from day one” to all accessible areas. In the Valencia region, authorities restricted road access for two days to allow emergency services to carry out search, rescue and logistics operations more efficiently.

Officials report that dozens of people are still missing, although determining an exact number is challenging due to severe damage to communications and transportation networks.

Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska told Cadena Ser radio on Friday that it was “reasonable” to expect more deaths would be discovered. Authorities are hopeful that the number of missing people will decrease once telephone and internet services are restored.

The storm that caused Tuesday’s flooding was formed when cold air moved over the warm waters of the Mediterranean Sea and is common at this time of year.

But scientists warn that climate change caused by human activity is increasing the severity, duration and frequency of such extreme weather events.