The horror of the devastating storms that lashed large parts of Spain yesterday was brought into sharp focus this morning as authorities confirmed at least 51 people had been killed.
Horrendous flash floods turned streets into rivers and left hundreds trapped in their homes, with many forced to climb trees, scale lampposts and sprint desperately to the upper floors of buildings to escape.Â
Shocking images showed how entire towns had been plunged underwater while others saw dozens of partially submerged cars piled up at awkward angles after the surge battered them into buildings.Â
The death toll is expected to rise sharply as emergency services continue their searches for dozens of people said to be still unaccounted for.Â
Terrifying footage also emerged of the moment a helpless woman was swept away by surging flood waters in Valencia as Spain battles one of its worst-ever natural disasters.
The unidentified victim could be heard screaming as the deluge pushed her down a waterlogged street. Horrified onlookers stood on balconies above stretched out their arms in a futile attempt to come to her rescue in the chilling clip.
For a moment it looked as though she was going to save herself by grabbing onto a lamppost – but the flood waters were too powerful and she was torn away from the pole before being swept away, her fate unknown.
Rescuers recovered 13 bodies overnight in the province of Valencia alone, including four people in Paiporta – two men, a woman and a baby – and five in Torrent near the provincial capital.
‘Yesterday was the worst day of my life,’ Ricardo Gabaldón, the mayor of Utiel, a town in Valencia, told national broadcaster RTVE. He said several people were still missing in his town.
‘We were trapped like rats. Cars and trash containers were flowing down the streets. The water was rising to three metres,’ he said.
Spain’s government announced the creation of a crisis committee – the equivalent of Britain’s Cobra emergency response committee – as the size of the disaster became apparent.
Defence Minister Margarita Robles said earlier this morning more than 1,000 members of the Military Emergencies Unit UME, a branch of the Spanish Armed Forces, had been mobilised to help with rescue efforts in Valencia province.Â
- At least 51 people have been confirmed dead with dozens still missing
- Death toll is expected to increase sharply in the coming hours and days
- Spain’s King Felipe VI has said the Royal Family is ‘devastated’ by the floods
- Thousands of homes and cars have suffered significant damage in flooding
- Hundreds of people remain trapped in their homes, workplaces and malls
- It is the worst flood-related disaster in Spain since 1996, when 87 people died
The unidentified victim could be heard screaming as the deluge pushed her down a waterlogged street in the chilling clip
Shocking images showed how entire towns were plunged underwater while others showed dozens of cars smashed into one another at awkward angles
The flooding caused horrific damage to many towns throughout Valencia
A river flows under a partially collapsed bridge affected by torrential rains that caused flooding in the town of Carlet, Valencia region, Spain, October 30, 2024
Rescuers and construction workers pick through the debris in search for bodies
Spain’s government announced the creation of a crisis committee – the equivalent of Britain’s Cobra emergency response committee
A van is partially submerged in floodwater. Cars are seen being swept away by the surging flood
Police confirmed they had recovered 13 bodies overnight in the province of Valencia, seen early this morning
Spain has experienced similar autumn storms in recent years, but nothing compared to the devastation over the last two days.
It is the worst flood-related catastrophe in Spain since 1996, when 87 people died and 180 were injured in a flash flood near Biesca in the Pyrenees.
The worst-hit areas are the province of Valencia where political leader Carlos Mazon first went public with news of ‘several fatalities’ in the early hours of this morning and the small town of Letur in the province of Albacete where six people including two council workers are said to be missing after a river burst its banks.
Two Civil Guard officers are feared to be among the fatalities after becoming trapped in a flooded basement in their police station in Paiporta near the city of Valencia, the capital of the province of the same name.
In nearby Massannassa on Valencia’s outskirts, a man died after getting trapped in a lift as he went down to a flooded underground car park beneath his apartment to check on his vehicle.
Emiliano Garcia-Page, president of the region of Castilla-La Mancha, confirmed just after 10am local time today an 88-year-old woman had been found dead in a flooded basement at her home in the village of Mira.
Mr Mazon, the right-wing president of the Valencian regional government which covers the provinces of Alicante, Valencia and Castellon, admitted just after midnight local time: ‘We are beginning to be able to reach areas we weren’t able to before.
‘I have to say bodies have been found. Out of respect for the families we are not going to give out any more information.
‘But we can confirm there are fatalities, there are bodies and bodies are continuing to appear in places we hadn’t been able to access before.’
Around 8am this morning the Civil Guard in Valencia said they had recovered 13 bodies so far from six different towns near the capital city.
Meanwhile, national television station Telecinco broadcast desperate appeals from people who feared loved ones and family members were killed in the flooding.
A woman called Loli told the programme in an anguished phone call she hadn’t been able to speak to her son Daniel, 25, since 10pm last night in Robarroja del Turia.
‘I need him to phone me. He’s my little boy. I need someone to find him. I spoke to him for the last time at 10pm and I know he then spoke to his girlfriend but that’s the last we know.
‘I just want him to phone me or his dad or his girlfriend and say, ”I’m okay.” He’s only 25, he’s got his whole life ahead of him.’
Spain’s King Felipe VI said he was ‘devastated’ by the floods and the rising death tolls.Â
The royal palace wrote on X that the royal family was ‘devastated by the latest news’ about the storm that has lashed eastern and southern Spain this week, offering ‘our heartfelt condolences’ to families of the victims.
The rain had subsided in Valencia by late Wednesday morning – but more storms were forecast through Thursday, according to Spain’s national weather service.Â
Dozens of cars are seen adrift in the deluge
Images show the extent of the shocking flooding
The swollen River Guadalhorce in Alora near Malaga
A car drives past damaged items from a furniture factory affected by torrential rains that caused flooding in La Alcudia, Valencia region, Spain, October 30, 2024
Around 600 people were trapped in the Bonaire mall, Valencia’s largest shopping centre last night after ground-floor flooding.
One man was filmed surrounded by floodwater sitting on the roof of his car as he waited for help to arrive.
Others are said to have clung onto trees to save their lives as streets were turned into raging rivers after rivers burst their banks.
A taxi driver called Paco, who was among those affected in Paiporta which was hit by devastating flash floods, told Spanish TV: ‘We were heading along a road leading to the CV-36 motorway and as we got to a roundabout before we reached it, we saw people warning us to turn round.
‘We turned back but in a matter of seconds, a massive amount of water appeared.
‘It was impossible to get out of the car. A torrent of water smashed my taxi against barriers at the side of the road and I couldn’t move.
‘A man in a lorry eventually managed to help me but I didn’t think I was going to get out of that situation alive.
‘It was horrendous. I saw a young girl grabbing hold of a lamppost. The force of the water was brutal.
‘We spent three hours on top of the lorry trailer before the water levels started to descend and we could reach safety.’
A bar owner in the Valencian village of Barrio de la Torre said the whole ‘neighbourhood is destroyed’.
‘All the cars are on top of each other, it’s literally smashed up,’ Christian Viena told Sky News.
‘Everything is a total wreck, everything is ready to be thrown away. The mud is almost 30 centimetres deep.’
The adverse weather is amongst the most extreme faced by the country in recent years
Men run next to a car covered with mud on a flooded street in Alora, near Malaga, on October 29, 2024, after a heavy rain hit southern Spain
People walk through flooded streets in Valencia, Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024
Footage shows several cars floating atop rapidly moving, soil-coloured water during the storm. The vehicles flush along the street and audibly bang into each other as they move
In another Valencian town, Utiel, the equivalent of two years’ worth of rain is said to have fallen in the space of a few hours and a woman was filmed being rescued by helicopter in waist-deep flood water with her dog and cats in her arms and a bag.
The six people said to be unaccounted for in Letur, a town of just over 1,200 inhabitants where torrential rainfall led to a small river flooding its banks, include two council workers.
Around 30 people were trapped in their homes in the town centre as one of the main streets turned into a gushing river which swept cars and anyone in its path away.
A large white van carried away in the flood water ended up smashing into a house and becoming trapped between two walls.
Mayor Sergio Marin described the situation as ‘catastrophic.’
Further south inland areas of the province of Malaga bordering the Guadalhorce River were also badly affected.
Several families had to be rescued with just the clothes they were wearing by officers in a Civil Guard helicopter who have been credited with saving lives.
A yellow weather alert is still in place in the area.
Cars are trapped by flooding in Valencia, Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024
People, some with their belongings, walk through flooded streets in Valencia, Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024
Raging flood waters turned roads into rivers, while abandoned vehicles crashed into one another, tornados blackened the sky and golf ball-sized hailstones pelted down amid near-apocalyptic scenes in southern and eastern Spain today, as rescuers said they had recovered several bodies.
An unspecified number of missing persons have been found dead in areas affected by flash floods devastating parts of the country, the leader of the Valencia region told reporters early on Wednesday.Â
‘Dead bodies have been found, but out of respect for the families, we are not going to provide any further data,’ Mr Mazon said.Â
The adverse weather is amongst some of the most extreme the country has faced in recent years.
Terrifying footage posted online shows the storm turning the sky black as debris whips around in the sky amid blustery weather during a tornado.Â
Another clip posted online shows the storm turning the sky black as debris whips around in the sky amid blustery weather during a tornado
One of the videos posted online shows the horrific conditions on the road, with one driver catching the moment another vehicle was blown onto its side, as his own windscreen cracks
In another, several cars float atop rapidly moving, soil-coloured water. The vehicles flush along the street and audibly bang into each other as they move.
Drivers also posted videos showing the horrific conditions on the roads, with many either leaving their vehicles or coming to a halt as the storm rages around them.Â
Authorities in the worst-hit areas have advised citizens to stay at home and avoid all non-essential travel.Â
In the town of Letur, in the eastern province of Albacete, cars were ferociously pushed through the streets in fast-flowing water, images broadcast on Spanish television showed.
Emergency services workers backed by drones were looking for six people who have gone missing in the wake of flash floods in the town, the central government’s representative in Castilla-La Mancha told Spanish public television TVE.
‘The priority is to find these people,’ she added.
Raging flood waters turned roads into rivers in southern and eastern Spain today
A partially submerged vehicle after the Guadalhorce River burst its banks in Alora, Malaga
A man inspects the flood waters following the extreme storm in Catadau, Valencia, Spain
A car has been swept atop another in Llombai, Valencia, as heavy rainfall swept through
Vehicles were wholly or partially submerged in the flood waters in Alora, Spain on Tuesday
A man looks out in despair as the roads have been turned into rivers in the Valencia region
Police in the town of L’Alcudia in the eastern region of Valencia said they were looking for a truck driver who has been missing since early afternoon.
‘I am closely following with concern the reports on missing persons and the damage caused by the storm in recent hours,’ Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez wrote on X, urging people to follow the advice of the authorities.
‘Be very careful and avoid unnecessary trips,’ he added.
Twelve flights due to land at Valencia airport were diverted to other cities in Spain due to the heavy rain and strong winds, Spanish airport operator Aena said.
Another 10 flights which were due to depart or arrive at the airport were cancelled.
National rail infrastructure operator ADIF said it had suspended high-speed trains between Madrid and the eastern port of Valencia due to the effects of the storm on main points of the rail network’ in the Valencia region until ‘at least’ 10am on Wednesday.
A high-speed train with 276 passengers derailed in the southern region of Andalusia, although no one was injured, the regional government said in a statement.
Emergency services rescued scores of people in Alora in Andalusia, some by helicopter, after a river overflowed.
State weather agency AEMET declared a red alert in the Valencia region and the second-highest level of alert in parts of Andalusia.Â
Several roads were cut in both regions due to flooding.
Elsewhere, in the Spanish city of AlmerÃa cars have been destroyed by giant golf ball-sized hailstones that fell from the sky as a violent storm passed over last night.Â
Trucks and a construction vehicle in the flood water on the western outskirts of Valencia, Spain
Torrents of rain caused heavy mud to flood into residences in Alora on Tuesday
Men walk through a flooded street in Alora, near Malaga, as the weather begins to clear
Vehicles became submerged in a car park in Llombai, Valencia after the flash floods
A man cleans the entrance of his home in Valencia, where 85.8 mm rain fell on Tuesday
The ferocious hailstorm caused havoc as it swept over the southern Spanish city which also suffered flooding from freak rainfall.Â
Photos and videos shared to social media showed the large hailstones damaging car windshields and windows with severe dents and chips left in metal and paintwork.Â
Other videos and pictures showed the aftermath of the storm, with one showing nearly a dozen large holes in the rear window of an AlmerÃa resident’s car.Â
On top of the hail, the city was flooded, with 100mm of rain falling in 12 hours. At its heaviest, 30mm of rain fell in a single hour.Â
Golfball-sized hailstones fell from the skies over AlmerÃa
The hail was accompanied by severe rain that left the city flooded
The hailstorm’s size and severity was the result of stormclouds that have been plaguing the region for days.Â
Yesterday Dólar, in Granada, was inundated with 148 mm of rain, while Caravaca de la Cruz, in Murcia, had 104 mm pour down and Carcaixent, in Valencia, was hit with 85.8 mm.Â
It comes just a few months after British holidaymakers hoping to leave behind the rain by heading to Spain were met with torrential downpours, hail, strong winds and flash floods.
Images from Costa Blanca showed submerged streets, overflowing rivers, and fast-moving water barrelling across dry fields before crashing onto highways in June.Â
Hail stones fell in some parts of the Valencian community, which includes the provinces of Alicante and Valencia.
Further south in Murcia roads turned into raging torrents.Â
In its capital city locals and tourists were pictured ankle-deep in water in its main street as they tried to negotiate their way past shops while others took refuge inside.
Elsewhere in the province cars were seen and wheelie bins were seen ‘swimming’ down streets which looked more like rivers. Firefighters were said to be ‘working tirelessly’ with roads closed in some places.Â
The enormous hailstones left cars across the city damages
Rear windows were smashed in by the hailstones
The streets of AlmerÃa were flooded following the heavy rainÂ
The metalwork of cars was left dentedÂ
The extent of the damage to the city is not currently knownÂ
By contrast, British holidaymakers on the Costa del Sol were today basking in glorious sunshine.
In Marbella, tourists were topping up their tans under blue skies in 26 degrees Celsius temperatures (78 degrees Fahrenheit).
It made a welcome break for those who had just flown in from the UK.
Office worker Sally Jones, 26, said: ‘I was in desperate need of sunshine. The weather’s been really gloomy back home.
‘I’ve got friends who are on the Costa Blanca right now and are saying they wished they’d come on holiday with me instead.’