Dozens killed as heavy rains, flash floods slam Spain

Addis Ababa, October 30, 2024 (FBC) – At least 51 people have died in Spain’s eastern region of Valencia after torrential rains triggered flash floods, a spokesperson for the regional government of Valencia told Reuters on Wednesday.

“We can confirm that some bodies have already been found,” Carlos Mazon, the head of the regional government, told reporters, saying it was still too early to give an exact figure of the dead.

Authorities could not give further details until relatives had been informed, he added.

Heavy rain lashed much of eastern and southern Spain on Tuesday, flooding streets with muddy water and disrupting rail and air travel.

Images shot by residents with smartphones and broadcast on Spanish TV showed raging waters washing away cars and flooding buildings.

In some areas, more than a month’s rain fell in a single day, Spanish media reported.

“We are facing an unprecedented situation, which nobody remembers,” Mazon said.

Officials said on Tuesday that at least seven people were missing – a truck driver in the Valencia region and six people in the town of Letur in the eastern province of Albacete.

Emergency services workers backed by drones would work through the night to look for the missing in Letur, the central government’s representative in Castilla-La Mancha, Milagros Tolon, told Spanish public television station TVE.

“The priority is to find these people,” she added.