Floods in Spain: at least 211 dead, new military reinforcements

The Spanish government announced on Saturday that it was sending 10,000 additional soldiers and police to southeastern Spain to to help the victims and help the search for the missing, four days after the tragic floods that left at least 211 dead.

In total, “5,000 more soldiers” will be deployed on the ground, including 4,000 “today” and 1,000 “tomorrow morning”, announced Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez in a statement from the Moncloa Palace, his official residence.

This figure brings to 7,500 the number of soldiers mobilized in the disaster areas, the “largest deployment of armed forces ever carried out in Spain in peacetime”, insisted the head of government.

In addition to these soldiers, there will be some 5,000 additional police officers and gendarmes, tasked with supporting their 5,000 colleagues already on the ground, according to Mr. Sánchez.

Soldiers clean the streets of Benetusser after deadly floods, in the Valencia region, on November 2, 2024 in Spain © AFP – Manaure Quintero

Reinforcements eagerly awaited in some localities still facing a chaotic situation.

The bad weather has “caused the biggest natural disaster in “the recent history of our country,” insisted the Prime Minister, assuring that the toll from the floods was now “211 dead.”

– “There will be more deaths” –

The latest figures from the emergency services, given on Friday evening, reported at least 207 victims, including 204 in the Valencia region, the most affected, with two other people dying in Castile-la-Mancha and one in Andalusia.

Civil Guards and members of the Emergency Military Unit (UME) take part in search and rescue operations in Benetusser, after deadly floods in the Valencia region, on November 2, 2024 in Spain © AFP – Manaure Quintero

The authorities have indicated, however, that this toll could rise, with the discovery of potential victims, particularly in the carcasses of cars that still litter the streets and parking lots of the most affected areas, among debris and uprooted trees.

“It is likely (…) that there will be more deaths,” Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said on Antena 3 television on Friday, refusing to give the number of missing people, which he considered to be still too fluctuating and imprecise.

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According to the government, the priority of the soldiers and police remains the search for the missing and the repair of roads and infrastructure, in order to allow the “delivery” of aid and the restoration of “essential services”.

They will also have to put an end to the acts of looting reported several times in recent days, for which 82 people have been arrested, according to the executive.

According to the Spanish meteorological agency (Aemet), the equivalent of a year's worth of rainfall fell on the night of Tuesday to Wednesday in some municipalities. These torrential rains formed torrents of mud, which destroyed bridges, ravaged houses and swept away thousands of vehicles.

According to the executive, 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.

– “Problems and deficiencies” –

“I am aware that the response that is being given is not sufficient and that there are problems and deficiencies”, but “the time will come to analyse” the possible “negligence”, insisted Pedro Sánchez, while the lack of responsiveness of the authorities is the subject of strong criticism.

Residents and volunteers clean a street covered in debris and car wrecks, after deadly floods, on November 2, 2024 in Paiporta, Valencia region, Spain © AFP – JOSE JORDAN

The Valencia regional government is notably accused of having sent a telephone alert message to residents very late on Tuesday, while Aemet had placed the region on “red alert” since the morning.

In Chiva, about forty kilometers from Valencia, the clearing continued Saturday morning in an atmosphere of desolation, according to an AFP journalist. In this town of 17,000 inhabitants, there are no soldiers, but many gendarmes, tasked with patrolling the town where dozens of houses are completely destroyed.

“There is nothing left,” lamented Mario Silvestre, 86, saying he was “resigned” at the sight of the damage. “Politicians promise a lot but help only arrives when it arrives.”

Volunteers gather in front of the City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia before heading to areas devastated by floods, on November 2, 2024 in Spain © AFP – JOSE JORDAN

In this gloomy panorama, the outpourings of solidarity continued on Saturday, particularly in Valencia, where thousands of people gathered at dawn to walk to neighboring towns, equipped with shovels and brooms.

On Friday, the number of volunteers was so great 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.

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