Spain flood disaster: death toll reaches 205 as additional troops are deployed
Weather agency says four regions remain on amber alert because of risk of rains and storms
The death toll from the floods in Spain this week has risen to 205, as residents in the Valencia region were warned to brace for more rain and an additional 500 soldiers were earmarked to help with the rescue operations.
Authorities in Valencia raised the death toll there to 202 on Friday afternoon, bringing the overall toll to at least 205 in have been was the deadliest floods in Spain’s modern history.
The state weather agency Aemet said that four regions, including Valencia, remained on amber alert because of the risk of rains and storms, days after rivers of mud-coloured waters left a trail of devastation.
On Thursday, Aemet had warned that the adverse weather conditions were expected to continue in the coming days. “We’re going to send a clear message,” the agency wrote on social media. “The meteorological emergency is not over. The storm still continues over Spain.”
Days after the flash floods coursed across parts of the country, sweeping away bridges, cars and streetlights, the number of missing people remains unknown.
The majority of those reported killed have been in the Valencia region, where earlier this week more than 1,000 soldiers from Spain’s emergency response unit were deployed to bolster the efforts of local emergency services.
On Friday, Spain’s defence minister, Margarita Robles, said a further 500 soldiers were being sent to the region and that more could be sent if needed. “Their missions include helping to dig out people who may be in basements or lower floors – unfortunately there are a lot of them – and helping to pump out water [from roads] to allow transportation so that food and water can reach certain populations.”
A mobile morgue had been deployed, along with psychologists, as well as specialised teams capable of locating bodies. “This is a horrible tragedy,” she told broadcaster RTVE. “One has to keep in mind that this is a storm that is unprecedented, not just in this century but even in the last.”
The situation remains dire in many of the affected areas. Thousands remain without access to water or reliable food while parts of the heaviest-hit areas remain inaccessible.
In the municipality of Alfafar, south of the city of Valencia, the mayor appealed for help. Days after a deluge of muddy water had destroyed homes, swept away cars and cut off access to part of the town of 22,000 people, Juan Ramón Adsuara said there had been little sign of firefighters, soldiers or national police.
“We’ve been forgotten,” he told local media À Punt. “There are people living with corpses in their homes, this is really sad.”
Instead it had been left to residents and local police to do what they could. Some had been using their own machinery to try to clear out part of the municipality that remained inaccessible, while others were risking the roads to drive to Valencia in order to bring supplies.
“We’ve had to empty a supermarket to distribute food among the population,” he said. “Please, we’re asking for help. We’re running out of everything.”
David Wilson
