At least 51 killed in catastrophic flash floods in Valencia as vids show roads become rapids & rescuers hunt for missing

Date: 2024-10-30

AT least 51 are dead after catastrophic flash floods hit Spain with videos showing roads becoming rapids.

Rescuers are now desperately trying to find survivors after the downpour left some regions, including popular Brit holiday resorts, underwater.

a group of people in orange jumpsuits are standing in front of a white building
AP
Emergency services carry the body of a flooding victim[/caption]
a helicopter from the guardia civil is flying over a residential area
AP
A helicopter rescues a person off a roof[/caption]
a group of people walking through a flooded street
AP
Valencians walk through water on Wednesday morning[/caption]
several cars are sitting in a puddle in front of a milar store
AFP
Cars have been left piled up after being swept away by the flood waters[/caption]
a flooded area with a red car in the middle
AP
Flash floods picked up the motors causing drivers and passengers to flee[/caption]
a group of people walking through a flooded street with a sign that says 30
AP
Emergency crew rescue residents after they were trapped in their homes overnight[/caption]
a red life preserver is in the middle of a muddy area
Solarpix
Where water has receded mud remains[/caption]
a man wearing a sweatshirt that says ' a ' on it stands next to a red car
AFP
Flooding has hit the east and south of the country[/caption]

The flooding has caused havoc, running from the provinces of Malaga in the south to Valencia in the east.

Tragically, a baby is now one of the 51 confirmed dead by officials on Wednesday morning.

Dozens more are feared dead as flood water which first hit around 1pm Tuesday caused rivers to burst their banks, entered homes, and swamped cars.

The President of the Valencia region Carlos Mazon said: “There are bodies and bodies continuing to appear in places we hadn’t been able to access before.”

In one small area on the outskirts of Valencia city, 40 people are either dead or missing, police sources have said.

Two council workers are said to be missing after a river burst its banks and two are feared dead after becoming trapped in a flooded basement in their police station.

In Massannassa, on Valencia’s outskirts, a man died after getting trapped in a lift as he went down to a flooded underground car park beneath his apartment to check on his vehicle.

Around 600 people were trapped in the Bonaire mall, Valencia’s largest shopping centre last night, after ground-floor flooding.

Videos shared by Spanish broadcasters showed floodwater rising into the lower levels of homes and even carrying cars through the street.

Drivers also posted videos showing the horrific conditions on the roads, with many abandoning their vehicles as the water rose.

A taxi driver called Paco was hit by a wall of water with “brutal” force while driving on the outskirts of Valencia city.

He said: “We were heading along a road leading to the CV-36 motorway and as we got to a roundabout before we reached it, we saw people warning us to turn round.

“We turned back but in a question of seconds a massive amount of water appeared.

“It was impossible to get out of the car. A torrent of water smashed my taxi against barriers at the side of the road and I couldn’t move.

a flooded street with a sign that says ' atencion ' on it
AP
Trash and mud has been left by the floodwaters[/caption]
a flooded parking lot with a spx logo in the corner
Streets have been turned to rivers by the flooding
Solarpix

“We spent three hours on top of the lorry trailer before the water levels started to descend and we could reach safety.”

Emergency services workers backed by drones were looking through buildings as they sought to find trapped residents.

In some places, rescue services used helicopters to lift people from houses and cars to safety.

Schools, sports events, and other public facilities like parks are all closed on Wednesday in Valencia.

Meanwhile, the entire province of Valencia – which has a resident population of nearly 5.5 million – were told they should avoid any travel yesterday evening through emergency mobile warnings.

The adverse weather is amongst some of the most extreme the country has faced in recent years.

a red car sits in the middle of a flooded area
EPA
Motors have been left lying in the mud[/caption]
a man stands on a bridge overlooking a flooded river
AFP
A man watches the flooded Turia River flow through Valencia[/caption]

A high-speed train with 276 passengers derailed in the southern region of Andalusia, although no one was injured.

Flights were delayed and diverted from Valencia airport at first, with it eventually being closed lat last night.

Meanwhile, Letur’s mayor Sergio Marin described the situation as “catastrophic” as firefighters and police on the ground and in a helicopter searched for four people said to be “unaccounted for.”

Marin told Spanish TV: “We couldn’t have predicted anything like this was going to happen. It’s a major catastrophe.

“Emergency responders including a police helicopter are still searching for around four people who we haven’t been able to account for in the flood area.

“Some were in a vehicle and others were in their homes. There’s been a lot of damage but we’re just hoping everyone is okay and there are no personal casualties.”

Elsewhere, in the Spanish city of Almería cars have been destroyed by giant golf ball-sized hailstones that fell from the sky as a violent storm passed over last night. 

Why was Spain hit by flooding?

Spain was hit by flash floods after the east of the country was hit by a meteorological phenomena known as a ‘DANA’.

A DANA, or a ‘cold drop’ is technically a system where there is an isolated depression in the atmosphere is at high levels.

In layman’s terms, more warm and moist Mediterranean air than usual was sucked high into the atmosphere after a cold system hit the country from the south.

The easterly wind then pushed all those clouds and rain into eastern Spain.

Three to four months of rain fell in some places over the space of 24 hours.

The DANA system hit southern Spain as it arrived from Morocco yesterday and is now expected to head west over southern Portugal.

a bridge over a river with a caption that says spx
Rivers turned into raging torrents
Solarpix
a white van is stuck in a flooded area with the letters spx below it
Solarpix
Cars were dangerously pushed up against buildings as water rushed past[/caption]
**ALL ROUND PICTURES & VIDEOS FROM SOLARPIX.COM**.**UK ONLINE USAGE FEE PER PIC 1st £40.00,2nd £20,00 . INCLUDING VIDEO GRABS. - NO PRICE CAP - VIDEO FEES AT STANDARD RATES** .**FULL COPY BY GERARD COUZENS.-TEL: +34 659 567 821** .JOB REF:22963 ASA/GC/SM DATE: 30.10.2024 .Caption:.THE full horror of the devastating storms that lashed large parts of Spain yesterday began to emerge today as police confirmed they had recovered 13 bodies overnight in the province of Valencia alone..They include four people in Paiporta, two men, a woman and a baby, and five in Torrent near the provincial capital..The scale of the unfolding tragedy emerged hours after the region’s president confirmed the discovery of “several bodies” after flash floods turned streets into rivers and left hundreds trapped in their homes.....This pic:Piles of Cars after the floods....*SOLARPIX COPYRIGHT WAVER NOTICE** .The above fees are for the suppling these internet/web sourced images & videos only and Solarpix accept no responsibility for any breach of copyright, the use of images supplied and the publication of images is solely at your discretion.**All queries email to alert@solarpix.com or call : +34 609568865
Cars were filmed floating down streets

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