At least 51 killed in catastrophic flash floods in Valencia & fears dam may BURST as vids show roads turned into rapids
Date: 2024-10-30AT least 51 are dead after catastrophic flash floods hit Spain with videos showing roads becoming rapid and fears a dam might burst.
Rescuers are now desperately trying to find survivors after the downpour left some regions, including popular Brit holiday resorts, underwater.
Cars have been left piled up after being swept away by the flood waters[/caption]
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.
“We spent three hours on top of the lorry trailer before the water levels started to descend and we could reach safety.â€
Ricardo Gabaldn, the mayor of Utiel, a town in Valencia, told national broadcaster RTVE his town was “trapped like rats”.
He said: “Cars and trash containers were flowing down the streets.
“The water was rising to three meters.”
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.
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.
Schools, sports events, and other public facilities like parks are all closed on Wednesday.
Over 1,000 soldiers from Spain’s emergency response units were deployed to the devastated areas.
The adverse weather is amongst some of the most extreme the country has faced in recent years.
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.â€
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.â€
Elsewhere, in the Spanish city of AlmerÃa cars have been destroyed by giant golf ball-sized hailstones that fell from the sky as a violent storm passed over last night.Â
Spain’s King Felipe and Queen Letizia said they were devastated by the flooding.
They said: “Strength, courage and all the necessary support for all those affected.
“Our warmest message and recognition to local and regional authorities and all emergency services, armed forces and state security forces and corps for the titanic work they have been doing from the very beginning.”
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.
