At least 62 people have died in flash floods in south-east Spain, authorities in Valencia said on Wednesday.
Flash floods swept away cars, turned streets into rivers and disrupted rail lines and motorways after torrential rain on Tuesday that affected large parts of southern and eastern Spain.
Spain's state weather agency Aemet declared a red alert in Valencia, with some areas such as Turis and Utiel recording 200mm of rainfall.
Videos shared on social media overnight appeared to show people trapped by the floodwaters, with some climbing onto trees to avoid being swept away. Police and rescue services used helicopters to lift people from their homes and cars. Carlos Mazon, the regional leader of Valencia, said some people remained isolated in inaccessible locations.
"For those who at this moment are still looking for their loved ones, the whole of Spain weeps with you," Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said in a televised address.
"To the villages and cities destroyed by this tragedy, I say the same: Together, we will rebuild your streets, your squares, your bridges," he said.
The central government's representative in the Valencia region, Pilar Bernabe, said emergency military response units were being sent from several regions to reinforce the rescue work. More than 1,000 soldiers from Spain’s emergency response units were deployed to the devastated areas. “First toll carried out by the different security and emergency forces: provisional number of dead victims at 51 people,” the regional emergency services wrote on X, adding that bodies were being identified.
The central government office for Castilla La Mancha region added that an 88-year-old woman was found dead in the city of Cuenca. The death toll could easily rise with other regions yet to report victims and search efforts continuing in areas with difficult access.
Castilla La Mancha region, Mayor Sergio Marín Sánchez said six people were missing. “Several hundred people” remained trapped on two motorways in the region, according to the region's fire service chief Jose Miguel Basset.
Defence Minister Margarita Robles told reporters “more than a thousand troops” backed by helicopters were being deployed in the face of “an unprecedented phenomenon”.
The storms unleashed a freak hailstorm which punched holes in car windows and greenhouses as well as a rarely seen tornado. Transport networks were also affected. A high-speed train with nearly 300 people on board derailed near Malaga, although rail authorities said no one was hurt. The high-speed train service between Valencia city and Madrid was interrupted, as were several commuter lines.
Authorities urged people to stay at home so as not to complicate rescue efforts, with travel by road already difficult due to fallen trees and wrecked vehicles.
“Yesterday was the worst day of my life,” Ricardo Gabaldon, the mayor of Utiel, a town in Valencia, told national broadcaster RTVE. He said several people were still missing in his town. “We were trapped like rats. Cars and trash containers were flowing down the streets. The water was rising to three meters,” he said.
Christian Viena, a bar owner in the Valencian village of Barrio de la Torre, told reporters his neighbourhood was “destroyed”. “Everything is a total wreck, everything is ready to be thrown away. The mud is almost 30 centimetres deep,” he added.
The royal palace wrote on X that the royal family was “devastated by the latest news”, offering “our heartfelt condolences” to families of the victims, while the Spanish parliament held a minute's silence in their honour on Wednesday.
The Prime Minister of neighbouring Portugal, Luis Montenegro, expressed his country's “greatest regret” and “solidarity with all the Spanish people” in a message on X, offering “all necessary help”.
The death toll appeared to be the worst in Europe from flooding since 2021 when at least 185 people died in Germany. It is the worst flood-related disaster in Spain since 1996, when 87 people died near in a town in the Pyrenees mountains.
Meteorologists have said the storm was caused by cold air moving over the warm waters of the Mediterranean Sea, which produced intense rain clouds. Spain has experienced similar autumn storms in recent years. It is still recovering from a severe drought earlier this year. Scientists say increased episodes of extreme weather are likely linked to climate change.
Meteorologists think the warming of the Mediterranean, which increases water evaporation, plays a key role in making torrential rains more severe. "Events of this type, which used to occur many decades apart, are now becoming more frequent and their destructive capacity is greater," said Ernesto Rodriguez Camino, senior state meteorologist and a member of the Spanish Meteorological Association.
The rain had subsided in Valencia by late Wednesday morning. But more storms were forecast through Thursday, according to Spain’s national weather service.
