At least 95 people have been killed following major rainfall across Spain, with local authorities warning the death toll could grow.
The floods are being described by meteorologists as the deadliest the country has seen in decades, with the eastern region of Valencia caught in the eye of the storm.
Bridges and parts of buildings from across the region have been destroyed by the torrential rainfall and carried away by floodwater, causing havoc on local streets and highways.
Residents in the worst-hit places described seeing people clambering onto the roofs of their cars as a churning tide of brown water gushed through the streets, uprooting trees and dragging away chunks of masonry from buildings.
It is the deadliest flood-related disaster in Spain since 1996, when 87 people died near a town in the Pyrenees mountains. Source: EPA / RAQUEL SEGURA
The death toll, which includes three people in other regions, appeared to be the worst in Europe from flooding since 2021 when at least 185 people died in Germany.
It is possibly Spain’s worst in its modern history as the number of victims surpassed 87 people killed in a 1996 flood near a town in the Pyrenees mountains.
Spain’s minister of regional affairs, Angel Victor Torres, told reporters the authorities were still unable to give a final number for all those still missing, suggesting the death toll was likely to rise further.
“This shows the tremendous magnitude of this tragedy,” he said.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on X that Europe was ready to help. “What we’re seeing in Spain is devastating,” she said.
The rain has also submerged a number of farms across Valencia, with the region producing the majority of Spain’s annual citrus fruit exports. The country is the largest provider of fresh and dried oranges worldwide based on figures from the Observatory of Economic Complexity.
Trains to the cities of Madrid and Barcelona were cancelled due to the flooding, and schools and other essential services were suspended in the worst-hit areas, officials said.
Power services have also been affected, with reports from power company i-DE claiming around 150,000 of their customers across the region had been left with no electricity.
Other regions of Spain also affected
There was also flooding in other parts of the country, including the southern region of Andalusia, and forecasters warned of more bad weather ahead as the storm moved in a northeasterly direction.
The regional weather service in Catalonia issued a red alert for the area around Barcelona, warning of high winds and hail, while the AEMET state agency placed the city of Jerez in Andalusia on red alert.
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez promised to rebuild infrastructure that had been destroyed and said in a televised address on Wednesday: “For those who at this moment are still looking for their loved ones, the whole of Spain weeps with you.”