In Spain, residents of the Valencia region (East) are called on Sunday, November 3, to return home due to the danger of new intense rainfall, five days after floods which left at least 217 dead in the south -east of the country. The police ask residents by megaphone to return home, according to Agence France-Presse.
The Spanish meteorological agency (Aemet) has issued a new red alert for rain south of Valencia until 11 p.m. The Aemet evokes a “extreme danger” : it could rain “more than 90 l/m² [soit 9 cm] in one hour ». Several coastal regions are also on orange alert.
The day was notably marked by the suspension of the visit of King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia to the flood sites. This decision was taken after the scenes of chaos, close to the riot, which took place during the first stage of this visit, in Paiporta, near Valencia, one of the cities most bereaved by the tragedy. The sovereigns were greeted with cries of« assassins ! » and by throwing mud. They tried to talk to the victims and calm their anger for about an hour before leaving. Their visit was normally to continue in Chiva, another town near Valencia hit hard by the floods.
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“How many deaths?” »
The hostility was in fact directed against the socialist prime minister, Pedro Sanchez, and the conservative president of the Valencia region, Carlos Mazon. The latter quickly left the scene, evacuated by protection services. “Mazon resignation!” », “How many deaths?” »shouted the crowd, who accused the authorities of having sent a telephone alert message to residents too late on Tuesday, while the meteorological services had placed the region on red alert in the morning.
Pedro Sanchez said on Sunday that he understood “anguish and suffering” victims of the floods, but condemned “all types of violence”speaking of “some absolutely marginal moments”. According to public television (TVE), which showed images of the vehicle, the rear window of the prime minister’s car was broken.
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In total, 213 people died in the Valencia region alone, three in Castile-La Mancha, where the body of a sixty-year-old woman who went missing on Tuesday was discovered on Sunday morning, and one in Andalusia.
Authorities expect the toll to rise further as car wrecks piled up in tunnels and underground parking lots in the worst-hit areas are methodically examined. “There are still flooded ground floors or garages, basements and parking lots to be cleared and it is foreseeable that deceased people are in these spaces”declared the Minister of Transport, Oscar Puente. According to him, the toll has changed relatively little over the past forty-eight hours because the emergency services first explored “more accessible areas”.
Chaotic situation
On Saturday, Pedro Sanchez announced the sending of 5,000 additional soldiers to help the victims and participate in the search for the missing, bringing their total strength to 7,500, i.e. the “largest deployment of armed forces ever carried out in Spain in peacetime”according to him. To these soldiers will be added 5,000 police officers and civil guards responsible for supporting their 5,000 colleagues already on the ground, reinforcements impatiently awaited in certain localities facing a chaotic situation.
If the chances of finding survivors are diminishing, the priority for relief remains the search for the missing, with the restoration of roads and infrastructure to allow the delivery of aid and the reestablishment of essential services. According to the authorities, more than 2,000 damaged cars and trucks have already been removed. Electricity has also been restored to 94% of residents who had been deprived of it.
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According to Aemet, in certain localities the equivalent “from a year of precipitation” in a few hours. This deluge is linked to a “cold drop” phenomenon, an isolated depression at high altitude which causes sudden and extremely violent rains which sometimes last for several days. This meteorological phenomenon, quite common in autumn on the Spanish Mediterranean coast, is most likely worsened by global warming, according to scientists.
