2024-10-31 19:03:00
October 30, 2024
10:33
Update
October 31, 2024
20:03
Deadly floods hit the Valencia region in southeastern Spain on Tuesday evening. Some 13,200 Belgians are in the disaster areas.
Search operations for victims continue this Thursday in the south-east of Spain, in shock after the worst floods in more than fifty years in the country, which caused at least 158 deadincluding four children, according to a new emergency report. And these losses could become even greater.
“We already have 155 deaths in the Valencia region, two in Castile-La Mancha and another in Andalusia, a total of 158 people, plus dozens and dozens of missing people“, said the Minister of Territorial Policy, Ángel Víctor Torres, during a press conference.
Nearly a thousand soldiers are deployed on the ground, mainly in the Valencia region, alongside firefighters, police and rescue workers who are seeking to locate possible survivors and are working to clear the disaster areas.
The FPS Foreign Affairs also indicates that some 13,200 Belgians are in the disaster areas. The service has not yet received any requests for assistance from Belgian nationals.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who declared three days of national mourningmust go to Valencia in the morning, where he will visit the Rescue Coordination Center (Cecopi).
Worst floods in nearly sixty years
At dawn on Thursday, thousands of people were still deprived of electricity in the Valencia region, according to the emergency services. Many roads also remain closed, whilecountless car wrecks litter the roads, covered in mud and debris.
“We are facing an unprecedented situation, which no one has ever seen before,” declared the head of the regional government, Carlos Mazon, on Wednesday.
According to the Aemet meteorological agency, more than 300 liters of water per square meter fell during the night from Tuesday to Wednesday in several towns in the Valencia region, with a peak of 491 liters in the small village of Chiva. This is the equivalent of “a year’s worth of precipitation,” she said. These are the heaviest precipitation since September 1966.
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The central government has established a crisis unit as of Tuesday evening, and sent an army unit specializing in rescue operations to the Valencia region.
Emergency services also rescued dozens of people in Alora, Andalusia, some by helicopter, after a river overflowed.
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In Letur, in the neighboring province of Albacete (Castile-La Mancha region), a flash flood invaded the streets, swept away cars and flooded buildings, according to images broadcast by Spanish television channels.
Dozens of videos shared on social media appeared to show people trapped in the water, many clinging to trees to avoid being swept away by the waves.
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Radio and television stations have received hundreds of calls for help fromresidents stranded in flooded areas, made inaccessible to emergency services.
According to the authorities, one of the most affected localities is Paiporta, in the southern suburbs of Valencia, where around forty people died, including a mother and her three-month-old baby, swept away by the current.
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“I am following with concern the reports of missing people and the damage caused by the storm in recent hours,” wrote Wednesday Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on X, inviting the population to follow the advice of the authorities. “Be very careful and avoid unnecessary travel,” he added.
For his part, King Felipe VI of Spain said he was “devastated” and assured to provide “all the necessary support” to the victims’ loved ones.
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The town hall of Valencia announced that all schools would remain closedas were public gardens, and all sporting events were canceled.
Twelve flights who were due to land at Valencia airport (east) were diverted to other cities in Spain due to heavy rain and strong winds, Spanish airport operator Aena said. Ten other flights scheduled to depart or arrive at the airport were canceled.
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National rail infrastructure operator Adif said it had suspended high-speed trains between Madrid and Valencia due to the effects of the storm on main points of the railway network. A high-speed train carrying 276 passengers derailed Tuesday afternoon in the southern region of Andalusia, but no one was injured, the regional government said in a statement.
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The national meteorological agency Aemet declared a red alert in the Valencia region and the second highest alert level in parts of Andalusia. She warned that the rains would continue at least until Thursday.
Disasters linked to climate change
The Valencia region and the Spanish Mediterranean coast in general regularly experience, in autumn, the meteorological phenomenon of “gota fria” (the “cold drop”)an isolated high-altitude depression that causes sudden and extremely heavy rain, sometimes for several days.
Scientists warn that extreme weather events such as heat waves and storms are increasingly intense due to climate change.
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Ent=ONLINE&ratio=0/0&width=1024&u=1730401381000 1024w, https://images.lecho.be/view?iid=Elvis:2jQTgc_54GyAs2E1Wfkk6R&context=ONLINE&ratio=0/0&width=1280&u=1730401381000 1280w” alt=”Flooding in Valencia due to heavy rainfall, impacting transportation.”/>
Flooding in Valencia due to heavy rainfall, impacting transportation.
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