Spain floods latest: British man among 95 dead in Valencia flooding as dozens still missing
The death toll continues to rise after the worst flash floods in three decades swept the eastern Spanish region of Valencia
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.At least 95 people, including a 71-year-old British man, have died in southern and eastern Spain following the deadliest flash flooding in the country for three decades.
Authorities fear the death will rise as other regions of Spain were yet to report victims and search efforts continued in hard-to-reach places to find dozens of missing people.
“The fact that we can’t give a number of the missing persons indicates the magnitude of the tragedy,” said minister of territory policies Angel Victor Torres.
A British man died in hospital hours after being rescued from his home on the outskirts of Alhaurín de la Torre, Málaga, according to the president of the Andalusian government, Juanma Morena.
He said the man had been suffering from hypothermia and died after suffering several cardiac arrests.
As torrential rain – amounting to a year’s worth in just eight hours in some areas – inundated cities such as Valencia and Malaga, many found themselves "trapped like rats" in their homes and cars, surrounded by rapidly rising floodwaters.
Police and rescuers used helicopters to lift people from their homes and cars as mud-coloured water quickly filled streets in dozens of villages, towns and cities.
How Spain’s ‘catastrophic’ floods led to over 200 deaths - explained through pictures
At least 217 people are dead after Spain was struck by the worst floods in recent memory that submerged towns, toppled bridges and cut entire communities off from the outside world.
The deadly floods left cars piled up like toys in streets, swallowed homes, and covered entire neighbourhoods in sludge and debris. Muddy rivers swept away everything in their path – roads, houses and key infrastructure.
Thousands of people are still facing power and water cuts and shortages of basic goods, especially in the eastern region, the worst affected.
Here’s all we know about the devastating floods, the causes, and the scale of the impact:
How Spain’s ‘catastrophic’ floods led to over 200 deaths - explained through pictures
Floods left cars piled up like toys in streets, swallowed homes, and covered entire neighbourhoods in sludge as authorities report 217 fatalities
Watch: Spain’s king dodges mud from angry crowd in flood-hit Valencia
Watch: Spain’s king dodges mud from angry crowd in flood-hit Valencia
Spain's King Felipe dodged mud as objects were thrown while he visited areas in Paiporta, Valencia affected by the country's worst-ever flood-related disaster on Sunday (3 November). Shouts of "murderers" were heard when the monarch arrived protected by an umbrella. Locals are reeling as the death toll reaches at least 217 and could increase as rescue and cleanup operations continue. The King and his wife, Queen Letizia, visited Valencia with prime minister Pedro Sanchez. They met local officials, emergency responders and civilians.
Video: Passengers walk through water as airport flooded
Images and videos on social media shows flooding in the terminals of Barcelona’s El Prat Airport, after the city was lashed by fresh rainfall on Monday.At least 70 flights were cancelled and 18 diverted as a result.
Spain’s weather forecaster Aena warned that Barcelona could be hit by another five inches of rain on Monday with some showers falling on flood ravaged Valencia too.
The flooding affected key areas, including the T-1 terminal and parking facilities. Passengers were kept away from these areas while airport staff continued to clear the water and restore normal operations.
Aena said that the storm has significantly disrupted all activities at the airport, resulting in “considerable” delays after air traffic controllers were forced to space out flight departures.
Passengers were advised to check the state of their flights online and prepare for potential delays as the airport continues to manage the impact of the floods.
Expat teacher in Spain still trapped after flood waters surround town and food runs out
An expat teacher living south of Valencia in Spain says he is unable to leave his town due to being “surrounded by water” following flash flooding in the region.
John Fahy, 55, who lives in a seaside town called Cullera, also reported there being no food in the supermarkets, with no new supplies expected for a while.
“We can’t leave our town because it’s flooded all around,” he said.
“There’s no-one in the shops in Cullera because there’s no food and there won’t be for a while.”
Read the full article here:
Expat teacher in Spain still trapped after flood waters surround town near Valencia
John Fahy described driving home during the worst of the storm, which hit southern Spain on Tuesday.
Politicians point the finger over who is to blame for failure to warn residents of fatal floods
Spanish minister Felix Bolanos from the Socialist Party said Tuesday’s cabinet would declare some of the worst hit villages by the floods in the regions of Valencia, Andalusia, Castile La Mancha and Catalonia as “severely affected areas” so that they can be entitled to emergency funds.
He added that the government would approve on Tuesday a package of relief measures to help people cope with the situation without giving further details.
Opposition politicians accused the left-wing central government of acting too slowly to warn residents and send in rescuers.
Mazon on Monday had previously said the Hydrographic Confederation of Jucar (CHJ), which measures the flow of rivers and ravines for the state, had cancelled a planned alert three times.
But Madrid said the CHJ does not issue flood risk alerts, which are the responsibility of Spain’s regional governments.
Protests in Valencia planned for Saturday
Unions and leftwing cultural associations have announced a protest in Valencia on Saturday to call for regional president Carlos Mazon, of the conservative People’s Party, to step down.
A daily protest in Madrid outside the headquarters of Sanchez’s Socialist party drew more people on Sunday, about 600, due to anger over the floods, according to El Pais newspaper.
Opposition politicians accused the left-wing central government of acting too slowly to warn residents and send in rescuers, while Madrid has said regional authorities were responsible for civil protection.
Spain’s king vows to give ‘hope’ after angry residents throw mud on his visit to Valencia town
Spain’s king responds after angry residents throw mud on his visit to Valencia town
Spain’s king has vowed to give “hope” after angry residents threw mud at him during his visit to a flood-stricken town in Valencia. More than 200 people have died and thousands of livelihoods have been shattered following last week’s devastating floods. The king’s comments came during a visit to the epicenter of their nation's deadliest natural disaster in living memory, where a crowd of enraged locals hurled clots of mud left by the storm-spawned flooding at Felipe VI and his wife Queen Letizia. After the visit on Sunday (3 November), in a meeting with emergency services, Felipe said the anger had to be dealt with.
Rescuers frantically dig for missing in underground shopping centre
Rescue teams in Valencia are intensifying their search efforts in a submerged underground carpark at a shopping centre, where severe flooding left vehicles and the structure underwater.
Fatalities from Spain’s worst flash floods in modern history rose to 217 with almost all of them in the Valencia region and more than 60 in the suburb of Paiporta. Hundreds are still missing.
Following the record-breaking flash floods, emergency services are working around the clock to clear out the 1,800-space underground car park, where sudden, tsunami-like flooding caught staff and shoppers by surprise.
Emergency crews are navigating murky waters to locate potential victims at the shopping centre, using boats to access areas where at least a metre of water remains.
As police teams pump out the floodwaters and search through the roughly 50 waterlogged vehicles discovered so far, no bodies have yet been found.
Survivors described the terrifying event to the Spanish newspaper El Mundo as “a nightmare” and “worse” than the “tsunami movie” with shop assistants recounting how they narrowly escaped as torrents of water surged into the complex.
Latest in pictures
Survivors describe tsunami-like horror of shopping centre flooding
Divers are still searching for bodies in the flooded underground car park of the Bonaire shopping centre in Valencia.
Emergency crews are navigating murky waters to locate potential victims at the shopping centre, using boats to access areas where at least a metre of water remains.
Survivors described the terrifying event to the Spanish newspaper El Mundo as “a nightmare” and “worse” than the “tsunami movie” with shop assistants recounting how they narrowly escaped as torrents of water surged into the complex as people were throwing up and having panic attacks.
Bonair is equivalent in size to 100 football fields with 123 shops including Zara and H&M, 34 restaurants, a bowling alley and 12-screen cinema.
One local wrote on social media: “I was lucky enough to be able to get my car out of the underground car park because they told us to evacuate. When I drove mine out there were still people and around 30 cars. It makes me frightened to think what they’ll find when they drain it.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments