While searches continue in the Valencia region where many people are missing, Barcelona was in turn drowned in torrential rains on Monday.
Spain is not done with weather alerts. Six days after historic floods which left at least 217 dead and many missing in the Valencia region, Barcelona was in turn drowned on Monday in torrential rains and its airport partly flooded, with dozens of flights canceled , while a violent hailstorm fell on the region whose coastline remains placed on orange alert.
At the same time, the Spanish army continues its deployment in the Valencia region, disfigured by devastating floods. More than 7,500 troops have been dispatched to help distribute food and water, clear streets and protect stores and property from looters, Defense Minister Margarita Robles said Monday, while he warship carrying 104 Navy soldiers and trucks full of food and water was heading towards the port of Valencia. In the Valencia region, rescue teams continued on Monday to search for missing people in the basements of buildings and underground garages, as well as at the mouths of rivers, where currents may have deposited bodies.
They have not found, for the moment, any victims in the underground parking lot with 5,000 spaces at the Bonaire shopping center in Aldaia, where the authorities fear finding a “graveyard”. On the surface, the worst floods in Europe in fifty years have engulfed the streets and lower floors of buildings, carrying away cars and sections of wall in waves of mud.
The floods swept away bridges, destroyed roads and railway tracks, submerged crops in this region which produces almost two thirds of the citrus fruits grown in Spain.
Residents are unfazed by the failures of authorities – regional and central – in anticipating and managing this climatic phenomenon linked to a cold drop spotted early by the country's meteorological services. The slowness of assistance is also pointed out. The alerts were too late last Tuesday when the rising waters were already underway. Central government and regional authorities have since blamed each other for the flaws in the organization before and after the tragedy.
The health risk
The opposition accuses Madrid of acting too slowly to warn residents and send rescue teams, while the central government has said regional authorities are responsible for civil protection measures.
Hundreds of residents of Paiporta, a municipality particularly affected by the floods, also expressed their discontent on Sunday during a visit by the King of Spain Felipe, his wife Queen Letizia and the president of the socialist government Pedro Sanchez, some throwing mud at them and shouting “assassins !”.
Demonstrators displayed distinctive signs of the Spanish far right. According to Margarita Robles, extremist groups are trying to take advantage of the situation.
Unions and left-wing groups are calling for demonstrations in Valencia on Saturday to demand the resignation of regional president Carlos Mazón, a member of the Popular Party (PP, right).
The lack of clarity regarding the number of dead and missing also outrages the victims' relatives. Although a hotline has been set up for relatives to report missing people, the government has so far refused to provide a figure, saying only that “dozens and dozens” people are still missing.
Another danger now awaits the victims: the stagnation of water in the streets and the possible contamination of drinking water raise fears of a health risk for the population.
“Stagnant water, especially those containing mud, provides an ideal environment for the proliferation of vectors (mainly mosquitoes and cockroaches), rodents and microorganisms that can cause infections in humans”warns José María Martín-Moreno, professor of preventive medicine and public health at the University of Valencia, quoted by El Diario. With the risk, in particular, for humans of contracting bacterial gastroenteritis. A health challenge that already overwhelmed authorities will also have to face.
