The death toll from devastating flash floods in eastern Spain climbed above 155, with rescue teams still searching for those missing in what could become Europe’s worst storm-related disaster in over five decades. In 2021, at least 185 people died in heavy flooding in Germany. Prior to that, the highest death toll was in Romania in 1970 when 209 died, or further back in 1967 in Portugal when floods killed nearly 500 people. Local authorities have not disclosed how many people are still unaccounted for, but the tragedy is already Spain’s worst flood-related disaster in modern history, and meteorologists say human-driven climate change is making such extreme weather events more frequent and destructive. A year’s worth of rain fell in eight hours in parts of the Valencia region on Tuesday. At least 155 people have died in Valencia alone, and another three in two other regions. Rescue teams on Thursday discovered the bodies of eight people, including a local policeman, who had been trapped in a garage on the outskirts of the city of Valencia, Mayor Maria Jose Catala told reporters.

In the same neighbourhood of La Torre, she said, a 45-year-old woman was also found dead in her home. “Those people wouldn’t have died if they had been warned in time,” Laura Villaescusa, a neighbour and manager of a local supermarket, told Reuters. Thousands of people carrying bags or pushing shopping trolleys could be seen on Thursday crossing a pedestrian bridge over the Turia river from La Torre into Valencia city centre to stock up on essential supplies such as toilet paper and water. Opposition politicians accused the central government in Madrid of acting too slowly to warn residents and send in rescue teams, prompting the Interior Ministry to say regional authorities were responsible for civil protection measures. Maribel Albalat, mayor of the nearby town of Paiporta, said they had never received warning of the imminent danger of flooding. She said 62 people had died in her town. “We found a lot of elderly people inside their homes and people who went to get their cars. It was a trap,” she told TVE.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan