The full horror of the flash flooding in Spain began to emerge on Friday, just as new rainfall lashed southern parts of the country.
The storm has killed at least 205 people, with 202 of those in the hardest-hit region of Valencia, emergency services in the region said Friday.
It marks Spain’s deadliest natural disaster in decades.
The death toll is expected to rise as emergency workers fight to rescue those who are trapped and recover bodies. Authorities warned Friday that roads have collapsed in some areas, with emergency services unable to get access.
The Spanish Armed Forces have already rescued 4,607 people, Spain’s Minister of Territorial Policies Ángel Víctor Torres Pérez said on Friday.
SOS Desaparecidos, an association dedicated to sharing information about those missing through social media, said they have received reports of at least 1,300 people who remain unaccounted for.
The country has experienced significant autumn storms in recent years, but nothing comes close to the devastation wrought in the past few days.
More details are emerging of the devastation in the Valencia region, with residents reporting large amounts of damage and horrific encounters with the rapidly rising water. A courthouse was turned into a temporary morgue in the region’s capital, Valencia city.
In the city’s La Torre neighborhood, where the water rose to chest level, volunteers continue to search for more missing people.
Rescue teams discovered the bodies of seven people in an underground parking garage there on Thursday, according to national broadcaster RTVE, citing police.
In photos: Flash flooding devastates parts of Spain
The father of one of those who died in the parking garage, a local policeman, told Spain’s El Mundo newspaper that residents had rushed to move their cars, but the water rose faster than people were expecting, trapping them. Another woman was dragged into the parking lot by the moving water and died, he said.
The town of Paiporta, Valencia, where at least 62 people died, was described by Spanish public broadcaster RTVE as the “ground zero of the tragedy.”
A witness who was caught in the flash flood there told RTVE that he saw multiple cars floating past him with people begging for help. Many drivers found themselves caught on a highway and were swept away in their cars, as the road appeared to merge with a nearby river. A bridge also collapsed in the area.
At least six people died in a nursing home on the outskirts of the town, Paiporta’s mayor told the Spanish national broadcaster. While staff managed to bring most of the elderly people to the first floor, they were unable to save everyone.
Mud still fills the streets in many areas, with the mayor of Valencia sharing images of community clean-up efforts on Friday. “Vehicles are being removed, the square is being cleaned and food and water are being collected,” Mayor María José Catalá said of La Torre.
The regional government of Valencia said power has been reestablished in 90% of places.
Carlos Mazon, the president of the Valencia’s regional government, defended his administration amid accusations that authorities failed to alert residents on time.
“The forecasts we received initially did not predict this (meteorological) revolution,” he said in a video posted on X.
Mazon said the regional government sent out “close to hundreds” of red alerts during the day of the storm, “including an SMS alert reserved for the worst possible scenario.”
Parts of Spain continue to see intense rainfall on Friday, and authorities issued a red warning overnight for the Huelva coast, in Andalusia, which had 140mm (5.5 inches) of precipitation in just 12 hours. Orange and yellow alerts also remain in place in isolated parts of Valencia.
