VALENCIA: Spanish rescuers on Wednesday scrambled to save people trapped by surging tides of muddy water in floods that have killed at least 72 people in the country’s east. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez urged citizens to remain vigilant as the danger persisted and three days of mourning were declared after the disaster on a scale rarely seen in the European nation. Heavy rain and fierce winds have lashed Spain since the beginning of the week after a storm formed over the Mediterranean Sea, triggering floods in the eastern Valencia and southern Andalusia regions.

The body coordinating emergency services in the Valencia region announced a new provisional death toll of 70 in a statement, adding that bodies were still being recovered and identified. Another two people died in the neighboring region of Castilla-La Mancha, its leader Emiliano Garcia-Page told reporters. The toll could rise as some people remain unaccounted for. Cars lay scattered and piled on top of each other on roads near the Mediterranean coastal city of Valencia after a mudslide, an AFP journalist saw.

Residents tried to clear the sludge from their homes with buckets and waded through waist-high waters in an attempt to save their belongings. In Ribarroja del Turia on the outskirts of Valencia city, town councilor Esther Gomez said workers were stuck overnight in an industrial estate “without a chance of rescuing them” as streams overflowed. “It had been a long time since this happened and we’re scared,” she said. According to Spain’s weather service AEMET, the town of Chiva, west of Valencia, recorded 491 mm of rain in just eight hours on Tuesday - almost equaling a year’s worth.

‘Spain weeps’

Sanchez said the government’s “absolute priority” was to help the victims. “All of Spain weeps with all of you... We won’t abandon you,” he said in a televised address. The disaster could not be considered over and “we will deploy all the necessary resources for as long as necessary so that we can recover from this tragedy,” he added.

Sanchez spoke with King Felipe VI and informed him of three official days of mourning from Thursday, government minister Angel Victor Torres told a news conference. Felipe said he was “devastated” by the news on X and offered “heartfelt condolences” to families of the victims, thanking emergency services for their “titanic” response. Portugal, Germany, Italy and Ukraine were among the European neighbors who conveyed their solidarity and condolences to Spain.

Damage to telephone networks and flooded roads were hampering efforts to reach stricken communities in the Valencia region. Some 155,000 homes are without electricity in Valencia region due to the storm, energy company Iberdrola said, adding that it had dispatched 500 workers to restore power there. The European Union activated its Copernicus satellite system to help coordinate Spanish rescue teams, commission chief Ursula von der Leyen told a news conference in Brussels. The bloc has also offered to use its civil protection mechanism to send further reinforcements, she said.

‘Unprecedented phenomenon’

Defense Minister Margarita Robles told reporters more than 1,000 troops backed by helicopters were being deployed in the face of “an unprecedented phenomenon”. Officials in the Valencia region announced survivors were being sheltered in temporary accommodation such as fire stations. Rail and air transport was severely disrupted and the high-speed line between Valencia and Madrid remained closed. The flood toll is the deadliest in Spain since August 1996 when 86 people died in the northeastern region of Aragon near the Pyrenees mountains bordering France. The downpours are expected to continue and the weather forecaster for the northeastern Catalonia region put Barcelona under the highest warning for Wednesday evening.

Meteorologists have said the latest storm was caused by cold air moving over Mediterranean’s warm waters, which produced intense rain clouds, a phenomenon common for the time of year. Scientists warn extreme weather events such as storms are becoming more intense, last longer and occur more frequently as a result of human-induced climate change. Such extremes “can overwhelm the ability of existing defenses and contingency plans to cope, even in a relatively wealthy country like Spain”, said Leslie Mabon, senior lecturer in environmental systems at Britain’s Open University.- AFP