Issued on: 31/10/2024 – 12:02

1 min

Flags flew at half-mast on government buildings throughout the country after a Mediterranean storm unleashed torrential rains and torrents of mud-filled water that swept away people, cars and homes.

Emergency services backed by more than 1,200 military personnel combed mud-caked towns and villages Thursday to find survivors and clear roads of debris.

Government ministers have warned the toll is likely to rise with many people still missing and some areas remaining inaccessible to rescuers throughout Wednesday.

King Felipe VI warned that the emergency was “still not over”.

National weather service AEMET put parts of the hardest-hit eastern Valencia region on the highest alert level for torrential rain on Thursday.

In the Valencia suburb of Sedavi, pensioner Francisco Puente struggled to hold back the tears amid a desolate scene of upturned cars and destroyed streets.

“If you see it, you say: ‘Am I seeing this? What is this?'” the 69-year-old told AFP.

The death toll is the worst from floods in Spain since 1973 when at least 150 people were estimated to have died in the southeastern provinces of Granada, Murcia and Almeria.

© 2024 AFP