- The authorities estimate that the number of deaths may increase, due to the number of missing people | Photo: EFE
The provisional number of deaths due to the floods in Spain amounts to 158, of which 155 lost their lives in the province of Valencia, another 2 in the province of Castilla-La Mancha and 1 more in Andalusia, but at this time there is still a figure indeterminate number of missing people and the emergency continues.
The latest count provided by the Generalitat Valenciana Emergencies – Valencian regional government – raises the number of fatalities to 155 in the last few hours and may increase as intervention and rescue teams gain access to the affected areas.
One of the most affected towns in the province was Paiporta, just ten kilometers from the Valencian capital, where the mortal remains of about 45 people were recovered according to municipal calculations. In other municipalities, such as La Torre and Castellar, 13 were counted.
Meanwhile, in the region of Castilla-La Mancha there are two deaths, although there are an undetermined number of missing people, in addition to significant damage.
In Andalusia, the victim is a British man who lived in Malaga and died shortly after arriving at the hospital, but the floods also affected an unknown number of people.
In fact, more than a thousand were rescued in different parts of the region.
Due to these events, the Spanish government decreed three days of mourning for the people who died. The measure will begin on October 31 until November 2.
Relatives of the missing ask for help
Relatives of the missing people in the municipalities most affected by the storm express their despair because they have no news about them and ask the authorities for help to locate them.
“The last time I spoke to my son was last night, he told me that the water reached his waist and he hasn’t answered me again,” said a woman in an interview with the EFE news agency. He indicated that his son is Colombian and was working in Benetússer.
The father of another of the missing said that he has tried to contact his son, who at the time of the heavy rains was in Alfafar, where another of his daughters and his two grandchildren also live.
“I am trying to call him but there is no communication with him, and it is not possible either with the Police or with the Alfafar City Council,” he assured.
The kings of Spain will visit the most affected areas
The kings of Spain will travel this weekend to the areas most affected by DANA, and to do so they will contact the mayors of the municipalities that have suffered the most damage to organize their visit, Zarzuela sources have reported.
His visit will be carried out in such a way that the work being carried out by the emergency services, the local police, the State Security Forces and also the Armed Forces and social organizations is not interfered with, according to sources.
Furthermore, Zarzuela has confirmed that tonight a first group of 50 members of the Royal Guard will leave for the affected areas to provide help, following instructions from the head of state, to whom another 50 colleagues will join tomorrow.
The most serious floods in the last 75 years in Spain
The floods caused by torrential rains between October 29 and 30 in the Spanish regions of the Valencian Community and Castilla-La Mancha and which have caused dozens of deaths are the greatest tragedy caused by rains so far this century and are counted among the most serious in the last 75 years.
To find a disaster of similar proportions in the Valencian Community we have to go back to 1982, when the overflowing of the Júcar river in Valencia and the failure of the Tous dam, in the east of the country, caused 38 deaths and the evacuation of 100 thousand people.
The worst in history
What is considered the largest hydrological catastrophe in Spain occurred on the night of September 25 to 26, 1962 in the Catalan region of Vallès Occidental, in the northeast, on which more than 200 liters per square meter fell in three hours. that caused a thousand fatalities.
This is the chronological list of the greatest tragedies caused by rains in Spain in the last 75 years:
-October 13, 1957.- More than eighty people died when the Turia River overflowed as it passed through Valencia and 1,700 homes were destroyed. The flood determined the urban future of the city, which planned a new channel for the river with the aim of avoiding similar disasters.
-January 9, 1959.- The overflow of the Vega de Tera dam floods and devastates the Zamoran town of Ribadelago (center of the country) and causes the death of 144 of its 532 inhabitants.
-On the night of September 25 to 26, 1962, more than 200 liters per square meter fell in three hours in the Catalan region of Vallès Occidental, causing around 400 deaths, according to official figures of the time, although it is currently estimated that There were at least a thousand fatalities, half of them in Terrassa and Rubí, in the province of Barcelona. The absence of a census at the time prevented accurate accounting.
October 22, 1965.- The overflow of the Torrejón el Rubio dam, in Cáceres (west of the country), caused 50 deaths. The catastrophe took place during the construction works of the Torrejón-Tajo and Torrejón-Tiétar reservoirs.
October 19, 1973.- The intense rains, with up to 600 liters per square meter, cause devastating floods in the provinces of Granada, Murcia, Almería and Alicante (southeast) and leave more than 150 dead, many of them in a market in Puerto Lumbreras (Murcia) and fifty missing.
– October 20, 1982.- The overflowing of the Júcar river in Valencia and the failure of the Tous dam caused 38 deaths and the evacuation of one hundred thousand people.
– August 1983.- A total of 34 people died in the Basque Country (north) in the floods caused by torrential rains that also affected Cantabria, Navarra, Burgos and Asturias, also to the north, and that together caused six dozen deaths and enormous material damage.
– August 7, 1996.- 87 dead and 200 injured when they were buried by a flood of water, stones and mud, after a storm, which devastated the “Virgen de las Nieves” campsite, near Biescas, in the Pyrenees of Huesca, in the north.
With information from EFE
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#dead #Spain #worst #floods #century #country
Here is a structured summary based on the provided text about the recent severe flooding in Spain and its historical context:
### Overview
Severe flooding has struck the Spanish regions of the Valencian Community and Castilla-La Mancha due to torrential rains on October 29 and 30, 2024. This disaster is noted as one of the most significant tragedies of its kind in Spain in recent history, resulting in dozens of fatalities and displacements.
### Communication Challenges
– Family members of those missing are facing communication difficulties with local authorities and the missing individuals. One father expressed frustration at being unable to contact his son, who was in the area at the time of the flooding.
### Royal Response
– The King and Queen of Spain are set to visit the affected areas over the weekend. Their visit aims to avoid disrupting ongoing emergency service operations.
– A contingent of Royal Guard members (50) will be dispatched to assist in relief efforts.
### Historical Context
This flooding event is described as one of the most serious in Spain over the last 75 years, recalling similar past disasters:
– **1982 Flooding**: The Júcar River overflow and the dam failure led to 38 deaths and the evacuation of 100,000 people.
– Other notable historical floods include:
– **1957**: Overflow of the Turia River resulted in over 80 deaths in Valencia.
– **1959**: A dam failure in Ribadelago led to 144 deaths.
– **1962**: A catastrophic flood in Vallès Occidental caused around 400 to possibly 1,000 fatalities in a single night.
This recent disaster highlights the ongoing vulnerabilities of the region to extreme weather events and the compelling necessity for enhanced disaster preparedness and response measures.
