Spain floods: At least 95 dead as searches for missing people continue

Survivors of the worst natural disaster to hit Spain this century awoke to scenes of devastation on Thursday after villages were wiped out by monstrous flash floods that claimed at least 95 livesThe death toll is expected to rise as search efforts continue with officials removing bodies from vehicles and an unknown number of people still missingUnfortunately there are dead people inside some vehicles said Spains Transport Minister Oacutescar Puente in reference to hundreds of cars and trucks stranded on roads stained brown with mudThe aftermath of the floods looked eerily similar to the damage left by a strong hurricane or tsunamiCars piled on one another like broken toys uprooted trees downed power lines and household items all mired in a layer of mud covered the streets of Barrio de laTorre a suburb of Valencia just one of dozens of damaged localities in the hardhit region of Valencia where 92 people died between late Tuesday and Wednesday morningWalls of rushing water turned narrow streets into death traps and spawned rivers that ripped into the ground floors of homes and swept away cars people and anything else in its pathThe neighbourhood is destroyed all the cars are on top of each other its literally smashed up said Christian Viena a bar owner in Barrio de la TorreRegional authorities said late Wednesday it appeared there was no one left stranded on rooftops or in cars in need of rescue after helicopters had saved some 70 people But ground crews and citizens continued to inspect vehicles and homes that were damaged by the onslaught of waterOver a thousand soldiers from Spains emergency rescue units joined regional and local emergency workers in the search for bodies and survivors The defense minister said that soldiers alone had recovered 22 bodies and rescued 110 people by Wednesday nightWe are searching house by house Aacutengel Martiacutenez official of a military emergency unit told Spains national radio broadcaster RNE on Thursday from the town of Utiel where at least six people diedSpanish Prime Minister Pedro Saacutenchez is heading to the region to witness the destruction firsthand as the nation starts a threeday period of official mourningThousands of people were left without water and electricity and hundreds were stranded after their cars were wrecked or roads were blockedThe region remained partly isolated with several roads cut off and train lines interrupted including the highspeed service to Madrid which officials say wont be repaired for several daysWhile Valencia took the brunt of the storm another two casualties were reported in the neighboring Castilla La Mancha region Southern Andalusia reported one deathWhile the greatest human and material suffering was inflicted on the dozens of municipalities near Valencia city the storms unleashed their fury over huge swathes of the south and eastern coast of the Iberian peninsula Homes were left without water as far southwest as Malaga in Andalusia where a highspeed train derailed on Tuesday night although none of the nearly 300 passengers were hurtThe greenhouses and fields of farmers all over the southern arc of Spain which is known as Europes garden for its exported produce were also ruined by heavy rains flooding and winds The storms spawned a freak tornado in Valencia and a hail storm that punched holes in cars in AndalusiaThe skies showed some mercy for the worsthit areas by stopping early on Wednesday But heavy rains continued Thursday farther north and the Spanish weather agency issued a red alert for several counties in Castelloacuten the northernmost province in the Valencia region and an orange alert for the south of Tarragona in northeast Catalonia and the west coast of Caacutediz in the southwestSpains Mediterranean coast is used to autumn storms that can cause flooding But this was the most powerful flash flood event 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 SeaThe violence of the weather event surprised regional government officials Spains national weather service said it rained more in eight hours in the Valencian town of Chiva than it had in the preceding 20 months calling the deluge extraordinaryYet the relative calm of the day after also gave time to reflect and question if authorities could have done more to save lives The Valencian regional government is being criticized for not sending out flood warnings to peoples mobile phones until 800 pm on Tuesday when the flooding had already started in some parts and well after the national weather agency had issued a red alert for heavy rainsAndreu Salom mayor of the Valencian village of LAlcudia told national broadcaster RTVE that his town had lost at least two residents a daughter and her elderly mother who lived together and that police were still searching for the missing truck driverWe didnt have any indication that the river was going to overflow its banks which happened around 600 pm when a wall of water and mud filled the town centre and washed away everything he saidThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever