Spain floods: Death toll hits 205 amid frustration over rescue efforts

The death toll from historic flash floods in Spain climbed to least 205 people on Friday, with many more believed to be missing, as the initial shock gave way to anger, frustration and a wave of solidarity.

Spanish emergency authorities said 202 of the victims were in the eastern region of Valencia, and officials warned that more rain is expected in the coming days.

Many streets are still blocked by piled-up vehicles and debris, in some cases trapping residents in their homes. Some places still don’t have electricity, running water, or stable telephone connections.

“The situation is unbelievable. It’s a disaster and there is very little help,” said Emilio Cuartero, in Masanasa, on the outskirts of Valencia city. “We need machinery, cranes, so that the sites can be accessed. We need a lot of help. And bread and water.”

Flooded roads and homes

In Chiva, residents were clearing debris from mud-filled streets. The Valencian town received more rain in eight hours on Tuesday than it had in the preceding 20 months, and water overflowed a gully that crosses the town, tearing up roads and homes.

The mayor, Amparo Fort, told RNE radio that “entire houses have disappeared, we don’t know if there were people inside or not."

So far, 205 bodies have been recovered — 202 in Valencia, two in neighboring Castilla La Mancha and one in Andalusia in the south.

Members of the security forces and 1,700 soldiers from the emergency unit are searching for an unknown number of missing people. Officials fear more bodies could be found in wrecked vehicles and flooded garages.

Guardia Civil has rescued more than 4,500 people trapped by the floods, said Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska in a news conference from Valencia.

Soldiers deployed

The regional authorities, who are in charge of the response to the tragedy, asked the central government to mobilize an additional 500 soldiers, who will be deployed on Saturday.

Before-and-after satellite images of the city of Valencia illustrated the scale of the catastrophe, showing the transformation of the Mediterranean metropolis into a landscape inundated with muddy waters. The V-33 highway was completely covered in a thick, brown layer of mud.

And more storms are expected. Skies in Valencia were partially sunny on Friday, but the Spanish weather agency issued alerts for strong rains in the region as well as the coast of Huelva, Andalusia; Tarragona, in Catalonia; and part of the Balearic Islands.

Climate change link

The storm cut power and water services on Tuesday night, but about 85% of 155,000 affected customers had their power back on by Friday, the utility said in a statement.

Spain’s Mediterranean coast is used to autumn storms that can cause flooding, but this was the most powerful flash flooding in recent memory. Scientists link it to climate change, which is also behind increasingly high temperatures and droughts in Spain and the heating up of the Mediterranean Sea.

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