Floods in Spain: “historic” bad weather, new regions on alert

The floods in the province of Valencia have caused at least 62 deaths according to the provisional toll. The damage is impressive and emergency services are still mobilized to help the victims. Andalusia and Catalonia are also placed on red alert this Wednesday.

The essentials

• This Wednesday, October 30, the situation in the province of Valencia, Spain, is critical. The floods that have occurred in recent hours have left at least 62 dead, according to the latest toll, including at least four children, according to information from the Civil Guard. In Valencia, dozens of people had nowhere to go last night and spent the last few hours in cars or trucks.
• Spaniards have also spent the night on the roofs of shops or petrol stations, or have found sheltering on top of bridges, others were found trapped in their vehicles on congested roads until they were rescued.
• The Valencia metropolitan area has faced particularly intense rains, several main roads have been closed, most trains have been unable to run. The storm is moving north this Wednesday, towards the province of Castellón. Six other people are still missing in the town of Letur, Albacete. The delegate of the central government in Castilla-La Mancha, Milagros Tolon, reported last night that the emergency services, supported by drones, continue to search for the missing.
• After the violent storms in the Valencia region, Andalusia and the northeast of the country are on alert. The national meteorological agency has even activated a red alert for a risk of intense rain in an Andalusian province, while the Catalan meteorological service has issued a red alert for strong winds.

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Several regions of Spain are on alert this Wednesday. The national meteorological agency activates the red alert in a province of Andalusia, Campiña Gaditana, and announces very intense rains that could reach accumulations of up to 120 mm. The alert was raised around 3 p.m. and will last until the night. The rest of the region is on orange or yellow alert.

But an alert has also been triggered in the northeast of the country by the Catalonian meteorological services, which have issued a red alert for violent winds on X, warning of a “maximum degree of danger” in the region. They are also reporting a risk of tornadoes.

Emmanuel Macron has expressed France's “solidarity” after the dramatic floods in Spain. From Morocco, the Head of State assured the neighboring country of France's “availability” to deploy all means “deemed useful by the rescuers on site”, in particular “civil security” aid. and “relief”.

14:56 – Stationary rains that replenish floods

Spain has been hit by a cold drop, a phenomenon called DANA for “depresión aislada en niveles altos" in Spanish, that is, a depression blocked at altitude and common at this time of year in the Iberian Peninsula. Specifically, very cold air that is at 10,000 meters above sea level meets warm air rising from the Mediterranean, creating heavy rain. This phenomenon causes “V” storms, named after the shape they take on satellite images. These are stationary storms during which heavy rain is concentrated mainly inside the V, thereby promoting flooding. “This type of organization is dangerous, because it generates powerful precipitations that are constantly replenished over a restricted geographical area. It is then common to observe severe flooding, mudslides and sometimes even landslides in rugged areas during these storms, explains the Keraunos storm observatory.

14:33 – Images of this rescue during the floods in Spain

Rescuers are still mobilized in Spain after the violent storms. The video of the intervention of a firefighter coming to the aid of a woman stuck in the water, with her dog in her arms, near her house has made the rounds of the networks. The images reflect the danger of the phenomenon.

14:08 – Why were the floods so severe ? Explanations

Spain has been hit by a well-known meteorological phenomenon: the cold drop. It is a depression that forms at high altitudes that gives intense and difficult to predict rain. An episode of extreme violence and bringing significant quantities of water, which have been retained by the geography and the nature of the soil. “It is a mountainous area” “where water runs down the mountains, and the rain gets stuck in the area,” explains Esther Crauser-Delbourg, a water economist at TF1 Info. In addition, the very significant concreting of soils prevents the absorption of water and promotes floods.

12:56 – Images of road damage

The damage is such that impressive piles of cars swept away by the force of the floods are visible in the streets of the province of Valencia. Several roads remain flooded or partially submerged this Wednesday and others have been destroyed or at least damaged by the floods as shown in the images of the damage broadcast on the networks social. 

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Il faudra sûrement des jours voire semaines avant un retour à la normal dans la région de Valence: les dégâts sont catastrophiques et étendues. https://t.co/eq7AlD7pNi

— Etienne Farget 🌩️ (@EtienneFargetMC) October 30, 2024

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12:29 – The European Union “readies & help Spain"

The scale of the floods that have hit Spain is such, and the damage is so severe in some places, that the President of the European Commission has reacted to the storms and declared on behalf of the European Union that she is “ready to help” Spain to cope with this “dramatic situation”. on X. “Civil protection can be mobilised”, assured Ursula Von der Leyen to support local forces. 

According to a new provisional report communicated by the Valencia region, at least 62 people have died in the historic floods that have hit this area of ​​the country in recent hours.

12:08 – Woman found dead in Albacete province

In addition to the 51 people found dead in the Valencia region, an 88-year-old woman has also died in Mira in the Albacete province. Six more people are being sought after the violent floods in this region of Spain. Significant resources have been deployed mobilized, with 134 soldiers from an emergency response team, including many firefighters and agents of the Guardia Civil.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez spoke late this morning from the Moncloa Palace in Madrid to express the government's “full solidarity and affection” to the families of those who lost their lives in this tragedy. Spain mourns with all of you. We will help you, with all the resources of the state and if necessary with those of the EU, so that you can rebuild your homes and your lives as quickly as possible. To the villages and towns that are being destroyed today, I say the same thing: together we will rebuild your towns, your squares, your bridges… And Spain is and will be with you,” he added. “The head of government also called for caution and “to be united” in the face of the violence of the floods and the damage: “Let no one put their life in danger.”

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez will hold a crisis meeting following the violent storms and deadly floods this Wednesday, starting at noon, in Madrid, as reported by several local media outlets, including El Pais. The objective will be to assess the damage caused by the storm and to consider the response to to the victims and the material damage.

11:20 – The King of Spain presents his condolences

King Felipe VI of Spain has offered his “sincere condolences to the families and loved ones of the more than 50 people who died” in a message posted on the royal family's X account: “Strength, courage and all the necessary support to all those affected”. The monarch also expressed his “gratitude to the local and regional authorities and to all emergency services, the armed forces and the state security forces and corps for the titanic work they have carried out from the first moment”.

11:08 – Hundreds of people stranded by bad weather in Valencia

Bad weather paralyzed the Valencia region on the evening of Tuesday to Wednesday. Nearly 200 people who were on a train were stranded near the town of Silla, south of Valencia, for several hours, according to local media Levante-EMV. They were taken care of and welcomed in a theater while others spent the night in the carriages. 

Still close to Valencia, more than 600 people remained trapped in the shopping centre of the municipality of Aldaia. These people are still in inside the facility, but emergency services were able to evacuate elderly people and others with health problems.

10:55 – Airport flooded, trains derailed or at a standstill due to torrential rains

The torrential rains that hit The storms in southeastern Spain have caused rising water levels and bridge failures, leading to flooding in various places. Valencia airport, for example, was completely flooded and a dozen planes due to land in the Spanish city had to be diverted, while ten other flights were canceled.

The bad weather also affected train traffic. A high-speed train derailed in the southern region of Andalusia with more than 270 people on board, but no injuries. National railway company Adif also said: to have suspended the TGV trains running between Madrid and Valencia due to the effects of the storm on the main axes of the railway network.

10:41 – Rain forecast until Thursday

The weather agency indicates in its latest report that the bad weather linked to the depression that hit the Valencia region will continue at least until Thursday, October 31. The bad weather could move southwest into the Andalusia region and northeast into the interior of the Valencian Community and Catalonia. Orange alerts, the second highest level of alert, have been activated for Wednesday, particularly in certain regions of Andalusia.

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The central government has activated an emergency plan and sent a unit to the Valencia region of the army specialized in rescue operations. "I am following with concern the reports of missing persons and the damage caused by the storm in recent hours," wrote Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on X. "Be very careful and avoid unnecessary travel," he added.

"We are facing “an unprecedented situation, which no one has ever seen before,” regional president Carlos Mazon told Spanish media. Valencia Mayor María José Cataláaacute; said 400 people who were victims of the storms had been taken care of.