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Historic Floods Claim 158 Lives in Eastern Spain
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The natural disaster striking eastern Spain reveals infrastructure vulnerability to extreme climate changes and the need to develop early warning systems
Spanish emergency services announced today, Thursday, that the death toll from devastating floods in the east of the country has risen to 158, in the worst natural disaster Spain has witnessed in five decades.
Floods swept through the Valencia region following heavy rainfall on Tuesday and Wednesday, submerging roads and towns, disrupting railway movement, and cutting off electricity to about 70,000 homes.
Spanish authorities deployed more than 1,200 soldiers to participate in rescue operations in the Valencia region, alongside police forces and relief teams, in an attempt to find potential survivors and remove obstacles from affected areas.
Defense Minister Margarita Robles emphasized that "the priority today is searching for the missing," noting the possibility of people being trapped in parking lots and underground floors.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez declared three days of national mourning and inspected the rescue operations coordination center in Valencia, while the National Meteorological Agency warned of a new wave of heavy rain that could hit the north of the region.
This disaster surpasses the October 1973 floods that left 300 dead, making it the largest natural disaster in modern Spanish history, while warnings remain in effect in several regions, including Valencia.
Rescue teams continue their efforts amid expectations of more heavy rainfall, as meteorological services issued a "red alert" for Castellón province, located a hundred kilometers from Valencia.
Levant-Agencies
