Death Toll of Spanish Floods Climbs to 95
a view of the flood-hit area in Valencia, Spain, Oct. 30, 2024. Photo: Xinhua.
October 31, 2024 Hour: 8:53 am
Emergency services conducted around 200 ground rescues and 70 air evacuations in Valencia on Wednesday.
On Thursday, Angel Victor Torres, the Minister for Territorial Policy, confirmed that 95 people died as a result of the floods, 92 of whom died in the Valencian Community, two in Castilla-La Mancha, and one in Andalusia.
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Rescue teams continue with search and rescue efforts for victims. Around a thousand military personnel, firefighters, police officers, and lifeguards have been deployed, primarily in Valencia, the region most affected by the natural disaster, to locate survivors and clear the debris left by the storm.
Given the severity of the floods and the death toll, Spanish President Pedro Sanchez declared three days of national mourning and will travel this Thursday to the city of Valencia, where he will visit the coordination center for the rescue operations. He affirmed that his government would not leave the victims “alone” and urged the area’s residents to remain alert to further rains and flooding.
Defense Minister Margarita Robles announced that rescuers would need to launch the search and rescue phase for survivors. She also warned that there was still a “great uncertainty” regarding the number of missing people.
In the early hours of Thursday, thousands of people remained without electricity in the Valencian Community. Many roads remain blocked, some due to vehicles swept away by the water, now covered in mud and debris.
The Valencian Community President Carlos Mazon noted that emergency services had conducted around 200 ground rescues and 70 air evacuations on Wednesday. Rescuers managed to reach all areas affected by the storm after many towns were cut off for much of Tuesday and Wednesday.
Exceptionally heavy rainfall, totaling over 400 liters per square meter, flooded parts of Valencia and the provinces of Albacete and Cuenca within just a few hours between Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning.
Meteorologists attribute the torrential rain to a phenomenon known as “Isolated High-Altitude Depression” (DANA), which occurs when a cold air front crosses the warm waters of the Mediterranean Sea. While its impacts are often localized, similar events wreaked havoc in 1966 and 1957, with the River Turia overflowing and devastating the city of Valencia.
teleSUR/ JF Source: EFE – Xinhua
