Spain’s ‘flood of the century’ claims 95 lives, search on for bodies

At least 95 people have been killed in flash floods in Spain that launched muddy waters through towns, tossed cars and swept away bridges, roads and rail tracks.
Up to a year’s rain fell in a few hours on the eastern city of Valencia and the surrounding region on Tuesday, gushing water and mud through towns and cities.
As rescuers search flooded fields and stranded cars for those still missing, the country’s AEMET state weather agency issued its highest level of alert for the province of Castellon.
“There are already very strong storms in the area, especially in the north of Castellon,” AEMET posted on its X account. “The adverse weather continues! Beware!” it added, advising people not to travel to that area.
An amber alert – for adverse weather conditions – has also been issued for the city of Tarragona.
Local authorities have not yet disclosed how many people are still unaccounted for after Europe’s deadliest floods in years. Over a thousand soldiers from Spain’s emergency rescue units joined regional and local emergency workers in the search for bodies and survivors, according to the Associated Press.
Spain’s Defence Minister Margarita Robles, however, said on Wednesday the toll was likely to rise. She added that soldiers alone had recovered 22 bodies and rescued 110 people by Wednesday night.
“We are searching house by house,” Ángel Martínez, an official of a military emergency unit, told Spain’s national radio broadcaster RNE from the town of Utiel, where at least six people died.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced that he is heading to the region to witness the destruction firsthand as the nation starts a three-day period of official mourning.
“For those who are looking for their loved ones, all of Spain feels your pain,” Sánchez said in a televised address.
Recalling the moment when water gushed through his town, Javier Berenguer, 63, said that he escaped his bakery in Utiel through a window.
“I had to get out of a window as best I could because the water was already coming up to my shoulders. I took refuge on the first floor with the neighbors and I stayed there all night,” Berenguer told The Associated Press. “It has taken everything. I have to throw everything out of the bakery, the freezers, ovens, everything.”