Latest floods in Spain: desperate search for ‘many missing people’ – death toll set to rise and heavy rain on the way | World news

TO Siobhan Robbinscorrespondent in Europe

In the town of Algemesi, about 40 km south of Valencia, the flooding was said to have occurred suddenly.

Water flows down the street, carrying with it thick, stinking mud that covers every surface in sight.

As we make our way through the slippery mud, we meet Bernardo, who is trying to sweep it out of his house.

No matter how much he scrubs and scrubs, the floors remain covered in dirt.

“The disaster is huge, I have never seen anything like it in my life,” he says.

He estimates that some houses were filled with nearly two meters of water.

Some residents in the flood zone said the force of the water was “like a tsunami,” causing cars in the street to tumble onto each other.

Many are now without power after flooding damaged electrical systems.

Residents spent most of the day trying to repair the damage. But when we walk around the city, the pictures are still visible.

Two dining chairs stand outside the house.

Their once plush velvet pillows were now damp and discolored.

Next, huge pumps pump water out of people’s basements.

On another street, cars gathered in a chaotic heap – stuck where the water had left them.

Bernardo shows us a video of the first consequences.

Cars sit on their hoods on the road as stunned locals watch.

He estimates that about half of the city’s vehicles are damaged.

And the suffering is not limited to Algemesi – it is a pain that is repeated in communities across south-eastern Spain.