Flash floods in Spain kill 214 people, government launches largest recovery operation

The deadliest flash floods in Spain’s modern history Four days after heavy rains lashed the eastern region of Valencia, at least 214 people have been killed and dozens are still missing, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Saturday.

In a televised statement, Sanchez said the government would send an additional 5,000 army troops to help with the searches and cleanups, in addition to the 2,500 soldiers already deployed.

“It is the largest operation of the armed forces in Spain in peacetime,” Sánchez said. “The government will mobilize all necessary resources for as long as they are needed.”

Valencia regional authorities said on Saturday evening that the total number of fatalities in the region stood at 211, plus two from Castilla La Mancha and one in Andalusia.

The tragedy is already the worst flood disaster in Europe since 1967, when at least 500 people died in Portugal.

Hopes of finding survivors were raised when rescuers found a woman alive after being trapped in a car park for three days in Montcada, Valencia. Residents burst into applause when Martin Perez, head of civil protection, announced the news.

Volunteers flocked to the center of Valencia’s City of Arts and Sciences on Saturday for the first coordinated clean-up organized by regional authorities. The location has been transformed into the nerve center for the operation.

In the Valencia suburb of Picanya, shop owner Emilia, 74, told Reuters on Saturday: “We feel abandoned, there are many people who need help. It’s not just my house, it’s all houses and we’re throwing away furniture, we’re throwing away everything.

“When will help come for refrigerators and washing machines? Because we can’t even wash our clothes and we can’t even take a shower.”

Nurse Maria Jose Gilabert, 52, who also lives in Picanya, said: “We are devastated because there is not much light to see at the moment, not because they are not coming to help, they are coming from all over Spain. but because it will take a long time before this becomes habitable again.”

The storm caused a new weather alarm in the Balearic Islands, Catalonia and Valencia, where rain is expected to continue this weekend.

Scientists say extreme weather events are becoming more common in Europe and elsewhere due to climate change. Meteorologists believe warming of the Mediterranean Sea, which increases water evaporation, is playing a key role in making downpours more severe.