In Spain, the search for victims focuses on parking lots

Search operations for the missing, 6 days after the floods which devastated the south-east of Spain and left 217 dead, focused Monday on underground parking lots in the Valencia region, where a morgue is ready to receive up to ‘to 400 victims.

We have planned a morgue which can accommodate 400 dead today.explained during a press conference General Javier Marcos, head of the Military Emergency Unit (UME).

At first there was a morgue set up for around 100 victims, but we quickly realized that this would not be enoughhe stressed.

The courts have already authorized the surrender of nearly 50 bodies of the deceased to their families, indicated the Superior Court of Justice of Valencia on the social network

The day after a chaotic day, during which an angry crowd greeted with insults and mud throwing the visit of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and King Felipe VI to one of the localities most affected by the floods, the priority The location of the missing still remains – the precise number of which has never been communicated by the authorities.

Last week’s devastating floods left at least 217 dead: 213 in the Valencia region alone, 3 in Castile-la-Mancha and 1 in Andalusia.

There are millions of liters

However, the final death toll could be higher and the authorities are particularly concerned about the situation in many completely flooded underground parking lots, which have not yet been completely inspected.

This is particularly the case of the Bonaire parking lot, a vast shopping center in Aldaia, a town of 31,000 inhabitants in the suburbs of Valencia. With a capacity of 5,700 places, almost half of which are underground, the latter is completely flooded.

The shopping center is devastated in its upper part. And down there is a terrible unknown. We’re not sure what we’ll find.

In recent days, UME personnel, who respond to natural disasters, have installed numerous pumps to begin evacuating water.

All the means of the armed forces are at work to dry out this parking lot, but there are millions of litersrecognized General Javier Marcos.

Divers have managed to penetrate the underground, without spotting any bodies so far.

Late Monday morning, the police confirmed that they had not found any victims in the first 50 vehicles inspected.

Barcelona, ​​placed on red alert

Monday morning, the Spanish meteorological agency (Aemet) officially assured that the situation of weather crisis had ended in the Valencia region, but the concern moved in the middle of the day some 350 km further north, to Barcelona, ​​placed on red alert.

Torrential rains led to the cancellation of 153 flights, said Transport Minister Oscar Puente. Eighteen other flights also had to be diverted.

High-speed train traffic between Barcelona and Madrid was also disrupted.

Impressive images, widely relayed on social networks, also showed vehicles stuck on a highway near the Catalan capital or flooded streets in neighboring towns. The Aemet red alert was lifted at 2 p.m. (1 p.m. GMT).

In the communities most affected by last week’s floods, anger and distress prevail six days after the tragedy.

Many streets remain clogged with piles of cars, mud and waste, and homes are still without telephone or electricity.

I was born here and I lost everythingtold theAFP Teresa Gisbert, a resident of Sedavi, another disaster-stricken town in the suburbs of Valencia.

In his house, a meter-long dark line of mud is visible where the water has penetrated. They told us “rain alert”, but they should have told us about floodingdeplores this 62-year-old woman.

On Sunday, this feeling of helplessness turned into a flood of anger when King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia went with Pedro Sánchez and the conservative president of the Valencia region, Carlos Mazón, to Paiporta, a municipality considered to be the epicenter of the tragedy.

Assassins! Assassins!shouted exasperated residents.

Some people threw mud and various objects at the procession, while insults were poured out against the Prime Minister and Mr. Mazón, who were quickly evacuated by the security services.