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The full horror of the flash flooding in Spain began to emerge on Friday, just as new rainfall lashed southern parts of the country.
The storm has killed at least 205 people, with 202 of those in the hardest-hit region of Valencia, emergency services in the region said Friday.
It marks Spain’s deadliest natural disaster in decades.
The death toll is expected to rise as emergency workers fight to rescue those who are trapped and recover bodies. Authorities warned Friday that roads have collapsed in some areas, with emergency services unable to get access.
The Spanish Armed Forces have already rescued 4,607 people, Spain’s Minister of Territorial Policies Ángel Víctor Torres Pérez said on Friday.
SOS Desaparecidos, an association dedicated to sharing information about those missing through social media, said they have received reports of at least 1,300 people who remain unaccounted for.
The country has experienced significant autumn storms in recent years, but nothing comes close to the devastation wrought in the past few days.
More details are emerging of the devastation in the Valencia region, with residents reporting large amounts of damage and horrific encounters with the rapidly rising water. A courthouse was turned into a temporary morgue in the region’s capital, Valencia city.
In the city’s La Torre neighborhood, where the water rose to chest level, volunteers continue to search for more missing people.
Rescue teams discovered the bodies of seven people in an underground parking garage there on Thursday, according to national broadcaster RTVE, citing police.
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A firefighter looks at flood damage in a shopping center on the outskirts of Valencia on Monday, November 4.
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A man wipes mud off his face in Catarroja on Monday.
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A tow truck collects destroyed cars in Paiporta on Monday.
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People clear mud from a street in Valencia on Monday.
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An aerial image shows damage to the Circuit Ricardo Tormo on Monday after the Valencia Grand Prix was canceled.
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Emergency workers remove damaged cars in Catarroja on Sunday.
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A woman embraces a member of the Emergency Military Unit in Sedavi on Sunday.
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Volunteers arrange donations at a gymnasium in Sedavi on Sunday.
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Security shields Spain's King Felipe as
angry residents boo and throw mud during a visit to flood-affected Paiporta on Sunday. The king, along with Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and regional governor Carlos Mazon, faced chants of “murderers” as locals accused authorities of a lax response to the disaster.
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People load belongings on a truck in Sedavi on Sunday.
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Members of the Spanish military clean a mud-covered street in Massanassa on Sunday.
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Heavy machinery is used to carry out repairs on the flood-damaged railway tracks in Sedavi on Sunday.
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Volunteers in Paiporta carry buckets of mud on Sunday.
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Emergency Military Unit members search for a missing person in a parking garage in Picanya on Saturday.
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People walk past a damaged hardware store in Benetusser on Saturday.
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A car sticks out of a garage in Valencia on Saturday.
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People clean a street in Valencia on Saturday.
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A firefighter checks inside a vehicle at a flooded garage in Alfafar on Saturday.
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Volunteers and residents clean a street in Paiporta on Saturday.
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Belongings are seen inside damaged buildings in Chiva on Saturday.
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A shoe lies inside a damaged car in Alfafar on Saturday.
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Firefighters search for victims in Alfafar on Saturday.
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A man cleans mud from inside a home for elderly people in Sedavi on Saturday.
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Vehicles remain piled up in the streets of Alfafar on Saturday.
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A woman — one of thousands of people who showed up to volunteer — waits to be assigned work to help with the clean up operation in Valencia on Saturday.
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Emergency Military Unit members help clean up in Paiporta on Friday.
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Firefighters conduct search-and-rescue efforts as cars and debris block a tunnel in Benetússer on Friday.
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People remove mud from a house in Sedavi on Friday.
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Destruction from the flooding is seen in Chiva on Friday.
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People help clean up in Paiporta on Friday.
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Hundreds of volunteers walk toward the town of La Torre to help people affected by the floods on Friday.
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Firefighters search for possible victims inside a car that was stranded in a tunnel in Alfafar on Friday.
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A woman rests as residents and volunteers clean up in Paiporta on Friday.
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A man walks around a cemetery on the outskirts of Valencia on Friday.
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People clear debris from a shop in Chiva on Friday.
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Aid donations are organized in La Torre on Friday.
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A member of the Emergency Military Unit searches for victims in Letur on Friday.
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People try to clear mud from a street in Paiporta on Friday.
Satellite image ©2024 Maxar Technologies
This satellite image shows the devastation in Paiporta on Thursday.
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People pick up goods in a Valencia supermarket on Thursday.
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Authorities carry a body into a van in Valencia on Thursday.
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A man stands among damaged vehicles in Valencia on Thursday.
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This aerial photo, taken on Thursday, shows destroyed rice fields near Valencia.
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People scoop mud out of a house in La Torre on Thursday.
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A man walks on a mud-covered road in Valencia on Thursday.
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A wedding portrait of Blanca Ruiz and Carlos Calmaestra is seen undamaged right above the water marks at their home in Godelleta on Thursday.
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Emergency services workers survey a devastated street in Letur on Wednesday.
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Eva Defez's friend hugs her outside her home in Utiel on Wednesday.
A man dumps floodwater out of his house in Utiel on Wednesday.
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Cars are seen piled in the street in the Sedaví area of Valencia on Wednesday.
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A couple holds hands outside their home in Utiel on Wednesday.
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A woman walks along train tracks covered by debris in Valencia.
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Emergency workers carry an injured person to safety in Letur on Wednesday.
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A woman carries chairs caked in mud in L'Alcúdia.
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A man carries a dog to safety in Letur.
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A man walks through a flooded street in Valencia on Wednesday.
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Rescue workers look at a helicopter flying overhead in Letur on Tuesday.
The father of one of those who died in the parking garage, a local policeman, told Spain’s El Mundo newspaper that residents had rushed to move their cars, but the water rose faster than people were expecting, trapping them. Another woman was dragged into the parking lot by the moving water and died, he said.
The town of Paiporta, Valencia, where at least 62 people died, was described by Spanish public broadcaster RTVE as the “ground zero of the tragedy.”
A witness who was caught in the flash flood there told RTVE that he saw multiple cars floating past him with people begging for help. Many drivers found themselves caught on a highway and were swept away in their cars, as the road appeared to merge with a nearby river. A bridge also collapsed in the area.
At least six people died in a nursing home on the outskirts of the town, Paiporta’s mayor told the Spanish national broadcaster. While staff managed to bring most of the elderly people to the first floor, they were unable to save everyone.
Mud still fills the streets in many areas, with the mayor of Valencia sharing images of community clean-up efforts on Friday. “Vehicles are being removed, the square is being cleaned and food and water are being collected,” Mayor María José Catalá said of La Torre.
The regional government of Valencia said power has been reestablished in 90% of places.
Carlos Mazon, the president of the Valencia’s regional government, defended his administration amid accusations that authorities failed to alert residents on time.
“The forecasts we received initially did not predict this (meteorological) revolution,” he said in a video posted on X.
Mazon said the regional government sent out “close to hundreds” of red alerts during the day of the storm, “including an SMS alert reserved for the worst possible scenario.”
Parts of Spain continue to see intense rainfall on Friday, and authorities issued a red warning overnight for the Huelva coast, in Andalusia, which had 140mm (5.5 inches) of precipitation in just 12 hours. Orange and yellow alerts also remain in place in isolated parts of Valencia.