Valencia flooding: Couple 'thought world was ending' as they sheltered from deadly floods on shelf

People working in a shop in Utiel, at the centre of the deadly storm in Spain which has killed at least 150 people, balanced on a shelf for dear life as the flood water rose

A couple have told how they “thought the world was ending” as the flood water rose while they waited in their shop for 10 hours.

Flash floods in Spain turned village streets into rivers, ruined homes, disrupted transportation and killed more than 150 people in the worst natural disaster to hit the country in recent memory. Rainstorms that started Tuesday and continued Wednesday caused flooding across southern and eastern Spain, stretching from Malaga to Valencia.

Muddy torrents tumbled vehicles down streets at high speeds while debris and household items swirled in the water. Police and rescue services used helicopters to lift people from their homes and rubber boats to reach drivers stranded atop cars.

The village of Utiel was at the centre of the storm brought about by the weather phenomenon 'DANA' in Spain which is an isolated low-pressure system at upper levels. Utiel was badly affected as the River Magro broke its banks and water reached the height of ground floor ceilings.

There have been six people who have died in Utiel and they were all people who were trapped in homes with just one floor with one resident saying it was like a “mousetrap”. Rain started to pour at around 1.30pm in Utiel and by 4pm it became a storm with a torrent of water running through the village.

Angela, who runs a Chinese bazaar near to the river, has told how the 700m2 building full of items has been completely destroyed saying: “We have lost everything.” But more importantly she along with her husband and an employee managed to survive by sitting on a shelf for 10 hours before they could escape to a first floor of the building.

“My husband grabbed a shelf and broke the glass and we sat there (on the windowsill which was close to the ceiling)," she told El Mundo. Angela showed a video where her husband had a pole with a hat tied to the end and he tried to alert helicopters to their position but none were able to get to where they were. “We thought the world was ending,” she continued.

It was after 10 hours and by this time 11.30pm that the water had dropped and they made a run for safety. “We said ‘let’s go’ and we managed to leave and get to the upstairs flat where the owner of the business lived. If not we would have died.” Later the water level rose again and two cars even smashed through the window of the shop.

Meanwhile, Ricardo Gabaldón, the mayor of Utiel, told RTVE: “Yesterday was the worst day of my life.” He added: “We were trapped like rats. Cars and trash containers were flowing down the streets. The water rose to three metres high."