Crews search for bodies in stranded cars and wet buildings on Thursday (Oct. 31, 2024) as residents rescue what was left of their ruined homes after devastating floods in Spain killed at least 158 people. Lives were lost, with 155 deaths confirmed in the eastern Valencia region. alone.
More horror came from omnipresent layers of debris and mud left by walls of water on Thursday (October 31, 2024), which produced Spain’s deadliest natural disaster in living memory. The damage caused by the storm late Tuesday night and early Wednesday was reminiscent of the tsunami’s aftermath, with survivors mourning their loved ones left to pick up the pieces.
Fallen dominoes, uprooted trees, downed power lines and household items were all piled high on top of each other in the mud, covering streets in dozens of communities in Valencia, a region south of Barcelona on the Mediterranean coast.
An unknown number of people are still missing and more victims may be located.
“Unfortunately, there are dead people inside some vehicles,” Spain’s Transport Minister Oscar Puente said on Thursday (Oct 31, 2024) morning, before the death toll rose to 95 on Wednesday (Oct 30, 2024) night.
The rushing water turned narrow streets into death traps and created rivers that swept away homes and businesses, carrying away cars, people and everything in their path. The floods destroyed bridges and left roads unrecognizable.
Luis Sanchez, a welder, said he rescued several people trapped in their cars on the flooded V-31 highway south of the city of Valencia. The road quickly became a floating graveyard filled with hundreds of vehicles.
“I saw bodies floating. I called, but nothing,” Sanchez said. “Firefighters took the elderly out first, when they could go in. I am from nearby so I tried to help and save people. People were crying everywhere, they were trapped.”
Regional officials said late Wednesday (October 30, 2024) that rescuers in helicopters had rescued about 70 people trapped on roofs and in cars, but ground crews had not yet been able to do so.
“We are searching house to house,” Angel Martínez, one of 1,000 soldiers helping in the rescue effort, told Spain’s national radio RNE from the town of Util. Where at least six people died.
One associated Press The journalist saw rescue workers remove seven body bags from an underground garage in Barrio de la Torre.
“Our priority is to find the victims and the missing so we can help end the suffering of their families,” Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said after the first meeting with authorities and emergency services in Valencia on Thursday (October 31, 2024). Can do.” Three official days of mourning.
Spain’s Mediterranean coast is accustomed to autumn storms that can cause flooding, but this was the most powerful flood in recent memory. Scientists link it to climate change, which is also behind rising high temperatures and drought in Spain and the warming of the Mediterranean Sea.
Human-caused climate change has doubled the likelihood of a storm like this week’s deluge in Valencia, according to a quick but partial analysis conducted Thursday by World Weather Attribution, which includes dozens of international scientists who blame global warming on the extreme weather. Let’s study the role.
Spain has suffered almost two years of drought, meaning that when the deluge occurred, the ground was so hard that it could not absorb the rain, leading to flash floods.
The violent weather event caught regional government officials by surprise. Spain’s national weather service said the Valencian city of Chiva received more rain in eight hours than in the previous 20 months.
A man cried while showing it to a national broadcaster reporter rtve The shell of what was once the ground floor of his house in Caterosa, south of Valencia. It seemed as if a bomb had exploded inside, destroying furniture and items and even blowing paint off some walls.
In Paporta, Mayor Maribel Albalat said Thursday (October 31, 2024) that at least 62 people had been killed in the community of 25,000 next to the city of Valencia.
Residents look at piled up cars after being swept away by floods in Valencia, Spain, on Wednesday (Oct. 30, 2024). , Photo Credit: AP
“(Paporta) never floods; We never have this kind of problem. And we found a lot of elderly people in the city center,” Ms Albalat said. rtve‘There were also a lot of people who came to take their cars out of their garages… it was a real trap.’
While municipalities near the city of Valencia suffered the most, the storm spread across vast swathes of the south and east coast of the Iberian Peninsula. Two deaths were confirmed in neighboring Castilla la Mancha region and one in southern Andalusia.
Greenhouses and farms in southern Spain, known as the Garden of Europe for its exported produce, were also devastated by heavy rains and flooding. The storms produced severe tornadoes in Valencia and hail that left holes in cars in Andalusia. Homes as far southwest as Málaga in Andalusia were left without water.
Heavy rain continued in the north on Thursday (October 31, 2024) as the Spanish weather agency issued an alert for several counties in Castellón in the eastern Valencia region and Tarragona in Catalonia, as well as southwest Cadiz.
“This storm front is still with us,” the Prime Minister said. “Stay at home and heed official recommendations and you will help save lives.”
As the shock wore off, anger grew over the way authorities handled the crisis, both for the late flood warnings and the chaotic relief response.
Many survivors had to walk long distances in sticky mud to find food and water. Most of their cars were destroyed and the mud, destruction and debris left by the storm made some roads impassable. Some people were pushing shopping carts on the clogged streets, while others were carrying their children to protect them from the mud.
About 150,000 people in Valencia were without power on Wednesday (October 30, 2024), but about half had power by Thursday (October 31, 2024). An unknown number did not have running water and relied on whatever bottled water they could find.
The region remained partially isolated and several roads were cut and train lines, including high-speed service to Madrid, were disrupted. Officials say it will take two to three weeks to repair the damaged line.
And with emergency personnel focused on removing the dead, survivors were left to find basic supplies and clean up the mess. Volunteers joined local people in removing damaged vehicles, removing junk and cleaning mud.
With local services apparently overwhelmed, Valencia’s regional president Carlos Mazón asked on Thursday (October 31, 2024) if the Spanish military could assist in distributing basic goods to the population. The government in Madrid responded by promising to send 500 more soldiers, more National Police and Civil Guard.
But necessity – and the post-apocalyptic environment – prompted some people to enter abandoned stores.
The National Police arrested 39 people on Wednesday (October 30, 2024) for looting. The Civil Guard said it detained 11 people accused of theft at a shopping mall, while its officers were also deployed to stop people stealing from cars.
People pick up goods at a supermarket affected by floods in Valencia, Spain, on Thursday (Oct. 31, 2024). , Photo Credit: AP
Some people said they had to steal goods, especially those who did not have running water or any way to get to stores that were not ruined.
“We are not thieves. I work as a sweeper in a council school. But we have to eat. Look what I’m carrying: baby food for the baby,” Nieves Vargas said at a local supermarket, whose doors were shattered on one side by water and staff were out of sight. “What can I give the child if we don’t have electricity.”
published – November 01, 2024 07:09 am IST