Flood in Spain: search for survivors continues

The civil protection agency, which is under the control of the regional government, issued an emergency alert to the phones of residents in and around the city of Valencia just after 20:00 local time (1900 GMT) on Tuesday as floodwaters quickly subsided. growing in many areas, and in some cases already wreaking havoc.

Questions remain about the timing of the alert and whether Spain has an adequate disaster warning system.

Mireia, who lives near devastated Valencia, said people were “not prepared at all.”

“A lot of people were in their cars, they couldn’t get out,” she said. “They just drowned in the water.”

Thousands of volunteers are now helping the Spanish military and emergency services in the rescue and clean-up operation, and Valencia regional president Carlos Mazon said more troops would be deployed.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez took to social media to express his gratitude to the volunteers, calling them “an example of the solidarity and boundless devotion of Spanish society.”

He promised that his government would do everything possible to help those affected by the disaster.

In the devastated town of Paiporta, which has so far recorded more than 60 deaths, residents have expressed frustration that help has been slow to arrive.

“There are not enough firefighters, no shovels have arrived,” Paco Clemente, a 33-year-old pharmacist, told AFP news agency as he helped clear mud at a friend’s house.

Dozens of people have been arrested for the looting, with one Aldaya resident telling AFP he saw thieves looting goods from an abandoned supermarket as “people are a little desperate”.