In addition to the human victims, there is also “very high” material damage. Authorities warned the population not to leave their homes as the storm persists.
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At least 95 people died in Spain due to the torrential rains that fell last night in the east of the country, according to the latest report from local authorities.
The most affected region was the Valencian Community, whose regional government confirmed 92 deaths until now, in a balance that, he said, remains provisional. “The process of recognition and identification of the victims continues,” said the Valencian Government in a statement.
Three more deaths have also been confirmed in the region of Castilla La Mancha, in a region bordering the Valencian Community.
The Spanish Government declared this Wednesday three days of national mourning for the consequences of the bad weather, stating that There is personal damage but also “very high” material damagewith roads and other infrastructure and buildings damaged or destroyed due to the violence of the waters that flooded entire towns.
The images disseminated by the Spanish National Police on social networks, filmed from a helicopter, show highways, roads and urban streets of Valencia completely flooded or full of mud and hundreds of cars piled up and stuck.
Piled up cars, streets full of debris and submerged subway stations. Images of the trail of destruction in Valencia
The executive also asked the populations of the areas affected by the bad weather to don’t leave home and, above all, do not try to travel on the roads, highlighting that the storm still persists and its effects remain dangerous.
The bad weather caused a “tremendous tragedy” in Spain last night and early morning, said the Minister of Territorial Policy, Ángel Víctor Torres, in a press conference in Madrid after a meeting of the Crisis Committee created by the Spanish Government because of the storm.
The minister indicated that there are several affected areas that remain inaccessible to rescue teams on the ground and that they have more than a thousand soldiers from an emergency unit for catastrophe situations.
In an assessment of the situation of the infrastructures protected by the central State, Ángel Víctor Torres stated that they continue two ports closed in the Valencian region. As for airports, the situation is normalizing throughout the Mediterranean region, after disturbances in several points in the east and south of Spain.
You high-speed trains between Madrid and Valencia They are completely suspended, like the commuter lines in Valencia, and the minister has assured that the replacement will occur “depending on the evolution” of the inclement weather and the work on the ground. All main roads are closed in the Valencian Community, he said. Thousands of people are without electricity in this region, according to the Spanish Government.
Several regions of Spain have been under the influence of a “isolated depression at high levels”meteorological phenomenon known as DANA, which caused torrential rains and incidents in various parts of the country, especially on the Mediterranean coast.
The most affected region was the Valencian Community, in the east of the country, with unprecedented levels of rain, which caused the most serious alerts and warnings from Civil Protection and Meteorology on Tuesday night. Rainfall in the Valencian Community last night was the highest in 24 hours since September 11, 1966, according to official data.
The European Union (EU), through the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the High Representative for Foreign Affairs, the Spanish Josep Borrell, affirmed that the bloc of 27 is willing to help Spain, in the field of Civil Protection and the European Solidarity Fund for Natural Disasters.
Source: Observadora
