Irishwoman in Valencia tells of devastation as over 70 people confirmed dead from flash flooding

An Irishwoman in Valencia has told of how residents received a ‘do not go outside’ alert on their phones on Tuesday night, hours after devastation began.

Over 70 people have been declared dead from extreme flash flooding in the Spanish region. Rescue teams were working tirelessly on Wednesday to find those feared missing, as photos show village streets turned into rivers in the eastern region.

Flash floods swept away cars, disrupted rail lines and major roads in the worst natural disaster to hit the nation in recent memory. Alex Philbin, 28, from Dublin, has been living in Valencia for three years. While she has witnessed flooding in the region before, the PHD student said it was never “of this scale”.

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She told the Irish Mirror: “Around me yesterday it was really windy, a few trees have fallen but we didn’t see any flooding in my area. In other towns, it is mainly the rescue operation [happening] today from all of the flooding yesterday.

“It has been awful, I have mainly been following it on social media and the images of people being trapped on their balconies or the roof of their cars. Some people have their animals in their hands, and some of the animal shelters are in desperate need of help. So it’s really awful.”

Alex said she realised on Tuesday morning that the rain had the potential to cause devastation, as the University of Valencia cancelled all lessons. However, it wasn’t until that evening she received an alert on her phone advising residents in the Valencian region to stay inside.

The Dubliner said: “Yesterday we saw everything that was going on, the emergency services were really saturated so we knew then that it was really serious but we didn’t get the official alert on our phones until 8pm yesterday evening and by then, so much destruction had already happened.

“A lot of people went to work on [Monday] and ended up getting stranded, so it’s pretty awful.” Alex said the supermarkets were like “Covid times” as people scrambled to buy bottles of water and others nabbed toilet rolls.

Schools and universities in the city were closed on Tuesday as many bars and restaurants shut on Tuesday night. The metro and trains were also cancelled while flights at Valencia Airport experienced cancellations and delays.

Amanda Kazak, 24, has been living in Valencia since last summer. The Meath native travelled home to Ireland to partake in the Dublin Marathon.

She was due to fly back to Spain on Tuesday, but her flight was cancelled due to the horrific flooding. Amanda said: “My flight is rescheduled to 6am tomorrow so I'm going to chance it because I need to get back to Valencia.

“But, it’s very scary. My housemate, who is Irish, said in the city it’s okay, but she went out last night and the bars were immediately shut.” A spokesperson for The Department of Foreign Affairs said it is aware of the situation and will provide assistance to Irish citizens in the area.

They added: “The Department, including the Irish Embassy in Madrid, is monitoring the situation and stands ready to provide consular assistance. Irish citizens are advised to follow the advice of local authorities. Any Irish citizens who require consular assistance are advised to contact the Irish Embassy in Madrid on +34 914364093.”

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