Valencia is braced for more serious flooding as fresh torrential rainfall threatens to overwhelm drains still clogged with mud and debris from last month’s deluge that killed at least 222 people.
Around four months’ worth of rain is expected to fall on Valencia’s coastal areas on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Much of the city still resembles a disaster zone following flash flooding two weeks ago.
Local officials have said drain capacity has reached its limit and Valencia’s president has warned that cleaning vans promised by the Spanish government are still “not here”.
“The problem is that the mud is solidifying, and the drainage system could stop working altogether,” said Valerio Eustaquio, a town planning councillor from Albal, one of the worst-affected areas.