At least 63 people have died and many others are missing after devastating flash floods hit eastern Spain, according to the local authorities, in one of the worst natural disasters to hit the country in recent years.
The floods — which submerged villages, cut off roads and caused problems with telecommunications — were triggered by a heavy deluge on Monday and Tuesday. More than a month’s worth of rain fell in less than 24 hours in some areas across southern and eastern Spain.
Almost all of the deaths confirmed so far by officials were in the eastern region of Valencia, where the storm battered villages and towns along the mountainous coastline. As daylight dawned on Wednesday, highways leading to the region’s capital, also named Valencia, were littered with debris and covered with mud, according to footage on Wednesday from local media.
One more woman died in Mira, a small town in the neighboring province of Castile-La Mancha, where at least six other people were missing in the municipality of Albacete, local officials said.
The floodwaters rushed into homes, sent cars piling up on submerged streets and disrupted travel and telecommunications across the eastern part of Spain.
As rescuers rushed on Wednesday to reach people waiting for help, residents in the hardest hit areas reported that they were having trouble with phone coverage and that electricity was down. Regional trains in Valencia on Wednesday were halted, and schools were closed in several places.
More than 1,000 soldiers from an emergency response team have been deployed, officials said, and the death toll is expected to rise. The authorities in Valencia said they had created a phone line to report missing people and urged residents not to travel in the area.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez of Spain said in an address on Wednesday morning that the country was mourning with the victims of the disaster. “Together we are going to rebuild your streets, your squares, your bridges,” he said from Madrid. “All Spain is and will be with you.”
Forecasters said that more rain was expected on Wednesday, with Spain’s meteorological agency raising an emergency alert to the highest level for the coastal Valencia region.
Though storms are typical during the fall in Spain, local residents were shocked at the sheer amount of rain: more than 70 gallons per square yard in some villages. In the village of Chiva, more than 100 gallons per square yard of rain fell in eight hours, practically a year’s worth of rain, Spain’s meteorological agency said.
The agency said that it expected some 40 gallons per square yard of rain before 6 p.m. local time on Wednesday over parts of Valencia, Andalusia and Murcia. The storm was moving toward the north and northwest of Spain, with rain expected to continue until at least Thursday.
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