Death toll in Spain flash floods continues to rise

Rescue teams discovered the bodies of eight people who had been trapped in a garage after devastating flash floods hit eastern Spain, as the death toll in the Valencia region alone climbed to 155.

Local authorities have not disclosed how many people are still unaccounted for after Europe's deadliest floods in years and Defence Minister Margarita Robles said the final national death toll could be much greater.

Opposition politicians accused the central government in Madrid of acting too slowly to warn residents and send in rescue teams, prompting the Interior Ministry to say regional authorities were responsible for civil protection measures.

Valencia Mayor Maria Jose Catala told reporters that a local policeman was among the eight bodies found drowned in the garage in the city's suburb of La Torre. In the same neighbourhood, she added, a 45-year-old woman was also found dead in her home.

"Those people wouldn't have died if they had been warned in time," Laura Villaescusa, a neighbour and manager of a local supermarket, told Reuters.

Meteorologists have said a year's worth of rain fell in eight hours in parts of Valencia on Wednesday.

The floods have battered Valencia's infrastructure, sweeping away bridges, roads and rail tracks and submerging farmland in a region that produces about two-thirds of the citrus fruit grown in Spain, a leading global exporter of oranges.

Thousands of people carrying bags or pushing shopping trolleys could be seen on Friday crossing a pedestrian bridge over the Turia river from La Torre into Valencia city centre to stock up on essential supplies such as toilet paper and water.

Maribel Albalat, mayor of the nearby town of Paiporta, said they had never received warning of the imminent danger of flooding. She said 62 people had died in her town.

"We found a lot of elderly people inside their homes and people who went to get their cars. It was a trap," she told TVE.

Clinging to pillar

In Godelleta, a town 37km west of Valencia city, Antonio Molina, 52, described how he survived a flash flood on Tuesday evening by clinging to a pillar on a neighbour's porch with water up to his neck till the heavy rain finally subsided.

His dog was later found alive swimming in the water, while his wife and son saved themselves by reaching the upper floor of their home.

Molina's home had already suffered two major floods in 2018 and 2020 and he blamed authorities for allowing construction of residential buildings in depressions where water accumulates.

"We don't want to live here anymore," he said, tearfully. "As soon as we get a couple of raindrops, we're already checking our phones."

About 80km of roads in the eastern region were seriously damaged or impassable, said Transport Minister Oscar Puente. Many were blocked by abandoned cars.

"Unfortunately there are dead bodies in some vehicles," Puente told reporters, adding that it would take two to three weeks to re-establish the high-speed train connection between Valencia and Madrid.

Visiting a rescue coordination centre near Valencia city, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez urged people to stay at home due to the threat of more stormy weather.

"Right now the most important thing is to safeguard as many lives as possible," he told reporters.

In the hard-hit rural town of Utiel, some 85km inland, the Magro river burst its banks, sending up to three metres of water into the mostly single-storey homes.

Utiel's mayor, Ricardo Gabaldon, said at least six people had died in the town of about 12,000, most of them elderly or disabled people who were unable to clamber to safety.

Residents used water pumps carried on tractors as they started to clean up on Thursday, with children helping to sweep the sidewalks. Ruined household appliances and furniture were piled up in the middle of roads and elderly people struggled to walk in the slippery, mud-coated streets.

Pope Francis said he was praying for the people of the region. "I'm close to them in this moment of catastrophe," he said in a video posted on X.

As climate change is linked to more frequent bouts of extreme weather, Hannah Cloke, a professor of hydrology at Britain's University of Reading, said the Valencia floods showed the need for greater public awareness of the dangers.

"We could see that people were putting themselves at risk driving in flood waters and there was just so much water that it has overwhelmed these places," she said.

- Reuters