According to regional authorities and emergency services, the death toll from devastating floods in eastern Spain has risen to 158.
The flash floods battered Valencia’s infrastructure, sweeping away bridges, roads and railway tracks and submerging farmland.
Officials in the stricken eastern region of Valencia said that 155 bodies had been recovered there, with three deaths also reported from the Castilla-La Mancha and Andalusia regions.
The toll makes the disaster the deadliest episode of flooding in Spain’s modern history.
Authorities have not disclosed how many people are still unaccounted for but the Defence Minister, Margarita Robles, said earlier that the death toll was expected to rise further given some areas remain inaccessible to rescuers.
As the country began three days of mourning, flags flew at half-mast on government buildings and a minute of silence was observed nationwide
Emergency service workers and more than 1,200 troops combed through thick silt in mud-caked towns and villages to find survivors and clear roads, while rescuers used helicopters to winch survivors to safety in areas that were still flooded.
Transport Minister, Óscar Puente, disclosed that about 80km (50 miles) of roads had been badly damaged or were impassable.
He said many were blocked by abandoned cars, some “unfortunately with dead bodies inside.” He added that it could take up to three weeks to reopen the high-speed rail line between Madrid and Valencia.
Conservative opposition politicians have accused the socialist-led federal government of acting too slowly to warn residents to get to safety, but the interior ministry said responsibility for civil protection measures lay with regional authorities.
Valencia’s centre-right regional President, Carlos Mazón, defended his administration’s management of the crisis, saying that the region’s officials had “followed the standard protocol.”
Spanish Prime Minister Visits Valencia
Meanwhile, Prime Minister of Spain, Pedro Sanchez visited a rescue coordination centre and met with regional officials and emergency services in Valencia.
With forecasts of more bad weather prompting storm alerts farther north, Sanchez, urged people to stay at home, saying, “Please, follow the calls of the emergency services … Right now the most important thing is to save as many lives as possible.”
“Our priority is to find the victims and the missing so we can help end the suffering of their families. This storm front is still with us. Stay home and heed the official recommendation and you will help save lives.”
Pedro Sanchez
Before a joint news conference with Valencian President, Carlos Mazon, a minute’s silence was observed in memory of the flood victims.
In his speech, Sanchez said that since the Valencian Community raised the emergency status to level 2, the Government has mobilised a huge amount of resources and troops.
The Prime Minister said there are more than 1,100 UME troops who have been deployed, 1,800 Policia Nacional officers, 750 members of the Guardia Civil, 200 army soldiers as well as 335 vehicles, helicopters and planes.
Sanchez also thanked all the member states of the European Union, which “are offering resources and aid to respond as effectively as possible to this tragedy.”
On his part, Carlos Mazon thanked Sanchez for his quick visit to region and said that they had both been in regular contact from the start of the emergency. He said, “This collaboration and coordination are fundamental and we will continue with this.”
He also praised the work of the state troops and those from other regions, as well as authorities in the region.
Separately, King Felipe VI warned the emergency was “still not over”, and AEMET issued its highest level of alert for the province of Castellón, and amber alerts for the city of Tarragona, farther north in the Catalonia region, and the west coast of Cádiz, across the country in the south-west.
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