Huge downpours have led to flooding in Spain. A total of 95 people have died, 90 of those confirmed dead were in the region of Valencia on the Mediterranean coast. At the same time, several people are still missing.
– According to the authorities, around 2,000 people are currently missing, a number that may decrease when people get hold of mobile phones and can contact relatives, says TV4 News broadcaster Jona Källgren.
– Here there is deep mud, mud everywhere and cars and rubble that have just been thrown around, says Källgren, who is in southern Spain.
Residents fled onto rooftops, took shelter on bridges and ran for their lives as a wave of brown water pushed its way along the streets. Trees were uprooted from the ground and along the streets cars have been thrown into piles.
– The water was so high that we couldn’t open the doors. Then it was time to jump out of the window, says 18-year-old Elsa who is fasting in a water-filled taxi outside Valencia.
A year’s worth of rain – in four hours
The Spanish weather agency states that storms are expected to continue to hit the country during Thursday. The incident is described as the worst natural disaster in the country’s history in over 100 years. In Valencia, as much rain fell as usually falls in a year – in just four hours, reports Reuters.
The floods have paralyzed several parts of society. The Spanish King Felipe VI described in a speech an “enormous destruction” of infrastructure and how on Wednesday they still had problems reaching certain areas, among other things, several train lines have been cancelled.
– Together with the Queen, we want to express our condolences to all affected families who have lost loved ones and who in some cases still do not know what has happened to some of their relatives, said Felipe VI at a press conference.
Matches are canceled – the stadium is turned into an aid centre
The deadly disaster has also led to the postponement of several football matches and other sporting events. On Wednesday evening, the football team Valencia CF was supposed to face Parla Escuela in Madrid, but the match has been postponed.
The Mestalla, the Valencia football team’s stadium with a capacity of over 40,000 spectators, has instead come to function as a relief center for those affected by the floods.
“Valencia CF joins the emergency aid arrangement activated by the Valencia Food Bank and turns the Mestalla into a depot for food and basic supplies,” the club wrote in a statement.
The team also held a minute of silence on Wednesday for those who died in the disaster.