Islam Times - 51 People Feared Dead after Torrential Rain, Flood in Spain

Islam Times - At least 51 people are feared to have died after torrential rains hit southern and eastern Spain, bringing flash floods that raged through towns and cut off roads and rail lines.

As the search continued for the missing, people were urged to stay off the roads amid warnings that the number of fatalities could rise, The Guardian reported.

The Valencian government’s emergency coordination centre said its multiple victims protocol had been activated, adding: “The initial toll logged by different police and emergency services puts the provisional number of victims at 51 people. We are beginning the process of recovering and identifying the victims.”

Speaking on Wednesday morning, Valencia’s regional president said it was still too early to provide a comprehensive death toll.

“These are very difficult hours for relatives and for the disappeared,” said Carlos Mazón. “We will confirm the number of victims over the coming hours but right now it’s impossible to offer a precise figure. We’re in shock.”

The regional government also urged people to stay off flooded or cut-off roads, saying the emergency services needed access and that more flood water could still accumulate.

More than 1,000 soldiers from Spain’s emergency response units were deployed to the devastated areas.

Images on Spanish TV showed turbulent, muddy water surging through the town of Letur in the eastern province of Albacete on Tuesday, dragging cars through its streets.

“Yesterday was the worst day of my life,” Ricardo Gabaldón, the mayor of Utiel, a town in Valencia, told the national broadcaster RTVE. He said several people were still missing in his town.

“We were trapped like rats. Cars and rubbish containers were flowing down the streets. The water was rising to 3 meters,” he said.

Spain has experienced similar autumn storms in recent years, but nothing has compared to the devastation over the past two days.