The death toll from Spain’s worst floods in a generation has risen to 205, with authorities warning that the number may climb as rescue efforts continue for those still missing. On Friday, Spanish rescuers established a temporary morgue in a convention center and worked tirelessly to reach isolated areas impacted by the floods, which are being described as Europe’s most severe weather disaster in five decades.
The eastern region of Valencia, which experienced the brunt of the devastation, reported at least 202 fatalities. Additional casualties include three deaths in both Castilla-La Mancha and Andalusia. The current toll is nearing the historical record of 209 deaths from catastrophic floods in Romania in 1970, while nearly 500 lives were lost in Portugal’s floods in 1967.
In response to the crisis, approximately 500 soldiers have been deployed to search for missing individuals and assist survivors. The storm has prompted a fresh weather alert in Huelva, located in southwestern Spain. Angel Victor Torres, the minister overseeing cooperation with Spain’s regions, indicated in a press conference that the death toll is expected to rise, with dozens of people still unaccounted for.
As recovery efforts unfold, around 75,000 homes remain without electricity. Firefighters are resorting to siphoning gasoline from abandoned vehicles to fuel generators and restore power. One firefighter, who traveled from Andalusia to aid the efforts, described the process: “We’re going from car to car looking for any petrol we can find,” using plastic tubes and empty bottles to collect fuel from the cars’ tanks.
The intense rainfall, which saw a year’s worth of precipitation fall within just eight hours on Tuesday night, wreaked havoc across the region, leading to the destruction of roads, rail tracks, and bridges as rivers overflowed their banks. Rescuers are bracing for more challenging conditions as they continue to search for survivors and provide aid to affected communities.
