According to a latest report released this Sunday, 217 people died in floods in Spainincluding 213 in the Valencia region alone, three in Castile-la-Mancha, where the lifeless body of a sixty-year-old woman from Letur who went missing on Tuesday was discovered on Sunday morning, and one in Andalusia.
In Letur, in the province of Albacete, the body of the woman carried away by the raging waves was discovered twelve kilometers from the place of her disappearance, said this Sunday at a press conference the government delegate in the Castile-La Mancha region, Pedro Antonio Ruiz Santos.
Among the victims of these floods are also two Chinese nationalsaccording to the Chinese embassy in Madrid. Two other Chinese nationals are missing.
It is about “the biggest natural disaster of the recent history of our country”, said Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Sunday, who accompanied King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia to the affected regions.
The Valencia region and the Spanish Mediterranean coast in general regularly experience, in autumn, the phenomenon known as “gota fria” (“cold drop”), an isolated depression at high altitude which causes sudden and extremely violent rains, sometimes for several days. But the phenomenon had never reached such magnitude.
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6:30 a.m. – Update on the results
According to a latest report released on Sunday, at least 217 people died in these floods, namely 213 in the Valencia region alone, three in Castile-la-Mancha, where the lifeless body of a septuagenarian who went missing on Tuesday was discovered. Sunday morning twelve kilometers from the place of his disappearance, and one in Andalusia.
The authorities know that the toll is set to rise. “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”warned the Minister of Transport, Oscar Puente.
6:29 a.m. – Several thousand homes still without electricity
On the ground, the population remains faced with a dramatic situation, with infrastructure destroyed or out of service and piles of cars and debris on the road.
According to the authorities, several thousand homes still remain without electricity. “It seems like the end of the world”told AFP Helena Danna Daniella, owner of a bar-restaurant in Chiva, still in shock five days after the bad weather.
People trapped “asked for help and we couldn't do anything (…) It drives you crazy: you look for answers and you can't find them.”
6:27 a.m. – Classes closed this Monday in Valencia
The National Meteorological Agency (Aemet) issued this Sunday a “red” alert (extreme danger) for the southern coast of Valencia, due to a risk of heavy precipitation (90 liters/m2, or 9cm), raising fears a new disaster scenario for the disaster-stricken localities.
In the process, residents were called by megaphone to return home, while alerts sounded on cell phones.
The alert was finally downgraded to orange category shortly after 9 p.m. (8 p.m. GMT), but Valencia town hall decided to close classes on Monday to take into account travel restrictions imposed by the regional government.
6h26 – What are the Spanish leaders accused of?
The president of the Valencia region, Carlos Mazón, is accused of having sent a telephone alert message to residents very late on Tuesday, even though the weather services had placed the region on “red alert” in the morning.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez is criticized for the slow delivery of aid by the victims, who feel abandoned by the State.
6:23 a.m. – The Prime Minister says he understands the “anguish and suffering” of the victims
In a short statement released Sunday evening, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said he understood “anguish and suffering” victims, but condemned “all types of violence”describing the incidents as“absolutely marginal”.
Arriving at midday in Paiporta, a town of 25,000 inhabitants among the most affected by the tragedy, King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia were greeted by furious residents, who attacked Mr. Sánchez and the president from the Valencia region, Carlos Mazón. “Assassins! Assassins!”, exasperated residents shouted.
Some people threw mud and various objects at the procession, while insults were poured out against the Prime Minister and Mr. Mazón, a figure of the Popular Party (PP, right).
In the midst of extreme tension, which required the intervention of mounted police to push back the most violent protesters, the sovereigns received mud on their faces and on their clothes, an episode undoubtedly unprecedented in the history of the Spanish monarchy.
Visibly moved, but impassive throughout this astonishing sequence, they stayed for about an hour to talk to residents and try to calm their anger before leaving. Their visit to another location was canceled.
In the evening, the king affirmed in a video posted on “understand anger and frustration” of the inhabitants “because of what they suffered”. He called for “give them hope and guarantee that the State (…) is present” to help them.
