At least 211 dead following floods in Spain

Photo: Manaure Quintero Agence France-Presse Civil Guards and members of the Emergency Military Unit, UME, participate in search and rescue efforts on November 2, 2024, following deadly flooding in the town of Benetusser, in the Valencia region.

Rosa Sulleiro – Agence France-Presse and Wafaa Essalhi – Agence France-Presse in Valencia, Spain

Posted at 6:17 p.m.

• Europe

The Spanish government announced Saturday that it was sending 10,000 additional soldiers and police to southeastern Spain to help those affected and search for missing people, four days after tragic floods killed at least 213 people.

In total, “5,000 more soldiers” will be deployed to the field to deal with what is “the biggest natural disaster in the recent history of our country,” Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced in a statement from Moncloa Palace, his official residence.

This figure brings to 7,500 the number of soldiers mobilized in the disaster areas, which is the “largest deployment of armed forces ever carried out in Spain in peacetime,” insisted the head of government, who will visit the affected areas on Sunday with King Felipe VI.

These soldiers will be joined by 5,000 police officers and gendarmes, tasked with supporting their 5,000 colleagues already on the ground, according to Mr. Sánchez. Reinforcements eagerly awaited in some localities still facing a chaotic situation.

According to a latest report from the emergency services released Saturday evening, a total of 213 people have died due to the torrential rains that fell in the south-east of the country during the night from Tuesday to Wednesday.

Among them, 210 died in the Valencia region, two in Castile-la-Mancha and one in Andalusia.

However, the authorities have warned in recent days that the toll could rise, as the carcasses of cars piled up in tunnels and underground car parks in the worst-hit areas are now being methodically examined.

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On Friday, a woman was found alive in her car, which had been stuck for three days in an underpass in the suburbs of Valencia, according to a civil protection official. According to the daily El País, she was next to her daughter-in-law, who had died, when emergency services took her in.

While the chances of finding survivors are now running out, the priority for soldiers and police officers remains, according to the government, the search for the missing, with the repair of roads and infrastructure to allow the “delivery” of aid and the restoration of “essential services”.

According to the authorities, more than 2,000 damaged cars and trucks have already been removed. Electricity has also been restored to 94% of residents who had been without it, and telecommunications are gradually being restored.

In the suburbs of Valencia, search and clean-up operations continued throughout the day, in a heavy atmosphere. “There is nothing left,” Mario Silvestre, a resident of Chiva, lamented to AFP, “resigned” at the sight of the damage.

In his town, where some 17,000 people live, there are no soldiers, but many gendarmes tasked with patrolling the streets where many houses have been destroyed. “Politicians promise a lot but the help only arrives when it arrives,” sighs this octogenarian.

Solidarity

Speaking on Saturday evening at a press conference, the conservative president of the Valencia region, Carlos Mazon, announced a battery of economic aid and promised the return of order, while acts of looting were reported in several stores, leading to the arrest of 82 people.

“There are people who may have felt alone, helpless, unprotected and I understand that,” the elected official acknowledged. But “I want to send a clear message, we are going to help all the homes” that need it, he continued: “we are facing the challenge of our lives and we are going to find solutions.”

The regional government of Valencia, and Carlos Mazon in particular, is the subject of persistent criticism for having sent a telephone alert message to residents late on Tuesday, while Aemet had placed the region on “red alert” since the morning.

Criticism rejected by Mr. Mazon, who assures that he followed the protocol in force and highlighted on Saturday “the spirit of solidarity of the population” of his region in the face of adversity.

In the disaster-stricken communities, the outpouring of solidarity continued on Saturday, particularly in the southern suburbs of Valencia, where thousands of people flocked on foot on Saturday morning with shovels and brooms to help the population.

On Friday, the number of volunteers was such that the authorities called on residents to stay at home and banned traffic on certain roads to prevent the roads used by emergency services from becoming congested.