In Spain, rescue workers are still searching for possible new victims

Six days after floods killed at least 217 people in Spain, rescue workers continued their search on Monday in the Valencia region, where authorities still fear the death toll will rise.

“At first, there was a morgue set up for about 100 victims, but we quickly understood that it would not be enough,” General Javier Marcos, head of the Emergency Military Unit (UME), explained during a press conference.

“We have planned a morgue that can now accommodate 400 dead,” he continued.

In the aftermath of a chaotic day, during which an angry crowd greeted the visit of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and King Felipe VI to one of the towns worst hit by the floods with insults and mud, the priority remains the location of the missing — the precise number of whom has never been communicated by the authorities.

Spain: Floods around Valencia © AFP – Guillermo RIVAS PACHECO, Hervé BOUILLY

Last week's devastating floods have left at least 217 dead: 213 in the Valencia region alone, three in Castilla-La Mancha and one in Andalusia.

But the final death toll could be higher, and authorities are particularly concerned about the situation in many underground car parks, which are completely flooded and have not yet been fully inspected.

– “Millions of litres” –

This is particularly the case of the Bonaire car park, a vast shopping centre in Aldaia, a town of 31,000 inhabitants on the outskirts of Valencia. With a capacity of 5,700 seats, almost half of which are underground, the latter is completely flooded.

Cleaning the streets in Alfafar, in the Valencia region, after devastating floods, on November 4, 2024 in Spain © AFP – JOSE JORDAN

“The shopping center is devastated in its upper part. And at the bottom, it's a terrible unknown. We're not sure what we're going to find,” Aldaia Mayor Guillermo Lujan told public television TVE.

In recent days, UME personnel, who intervene in natural disasters, have installed numerous pumps to begin evacuating the water.

“All the means of the armed forces are being used to drain this parking lot, but there are millions of liters,” acknowledged General Javier Marcos.

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Divers have managed to penetrate the underground passage, without finding any bodies so far.

Late Monday morning, the police confirmed that they had not found any victims in the first 50 vehicles inspected.

On Monday morning, the Spanish meteorological agency (Aemet) officially assured that the “meteorological crisis” situation had ended in the Valencia region, but the concern moved in the middle of the day some 350 km further north, to Barcelona, ​​which was placed on red alert.

Torrential rains have led to cancellations or major delays for some 70 flights at the airport. Eighteen other flights have also had to be diverted.

Police officers and their dogs search for victims in Alfafar, Valencia region, on November 4, 2024, after devastating floods in Spain © AFP – JOSE JORDAN

High-speed train traffic between Barcelona and Madrid has also been disrupted.

Striking images, widely shared on social media, also showed vehicles stuck on a motorway near the Catalan capital or flooded streets in neighbouring towns. Aemet's red alert ended at 2pm (1pm GMT).

– Anger and distress –

In the towns worst hit by last week's floods, anger and distress are prevalent six days after the tragedy.

Many streets remain blocked by piles of cars, mud and trash, and homes are still without telephone or electricity.

“I was born here and I lost everything,” Teresa Gisbert, a resident of Sedavi, another disaster-stricken town on the outskirts of Valencia, told AFP.

Inside her house, a dark line of mud one metre deep is visible, where the water has penetrated. “They told us 'rain alert' but they should have told us 'flooding',” laments this 62-year-old woman.

King Felipe VI of Spain (c) talks to residents as others heckle him during his visit to Paiporta, Valencia region, on November 3, 2024, after deadly floods in Spain © AFP – Manaure Quintero

On Sunday, this feeling of helplessness turned into a wave of anger when King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia went with Pedro Sánchez and the conservative president of the Valencian region Carlos Mazón to Paiporta, a town considered the epicentre of the tragedy.

“Murderers! Murderers!” shouted exasperated residents.

Some people threw mud and various objects at the procession, while insults were hurled at the prime minister and Mr Mazón, who were quickly evacuated by the security services.

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