Spain is reeling from one of its deadliest natural disasters in recent history, with floods claiming at least 205 lives as of Friday. Rescue teams are combing through vehicles and collapsed buildings to find survivors, while residents sift through debris to salvage belongings from the remains of their homes.
Many hundreds of soldiers have been deployed to assist in rescue efforts amid devastating flash floods in the nation's worst natural disaster in decades. Torrential rain and hailstorms on Tuesday caused flooding across multiple regions including the hardest-hit eastern province of Valencia, turning streets into rivers destroying homes and washing away cars.
The damage in many communities resembled the aftermath of a major hurricane or tsunami.As of Friday, 202 deaths had been confirmed in the Valencia region alone. Another two people were found dead in neighbouring Castilla-La Mancha and one in southern Andalusia.
An unknown number of people are still missing and the death toll is likely to rise as some flood-affected areas are still inaccessible, authorities have said. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez pledged the government's full support to the areas affected by devastating floods, as he visited Valencia on Thursday, the first of three official days of mourning
“Our priority is to find the victims and the missing so we can help end the suffering of their families," Sánchez said. He urged people to remain at home, saying that the situation remained unstable. "The storm front is still with us," he warned.
Sánchez added that he had spoken to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who had offered the EU's assistance, and said that member states had also stepped up to offer resources.
