The provisional death toll from the floods hitting Spain has risen to 205 deaths, authorities announced this Friday. This figure could rise further because many of the missing are still untraceable.
It is a historic catastrophe that has struck Spain. At least 205 people have lost their lives in the floods that have affected the country since Tuesday, authorities said this Friday, November 1. The most bereaved region is that of Valencia where 202 people died.
Three days after this tragedy, calls for help and poignant testimonies from residents left to their own devices and lacking everything are multiplying on radios and televisions, with state aid being awaited.
In Paiporta, a martyr town of 25,000 inhabitants which has already recorded 62 deaths, a crowd of people, deprived of water and electricity and without access to a business for three days, formed a queue this Friday in front of a point improvised distribution. “The most important thing is food and water,” explains Ramón Vicente, 73, who came with his wife.
“They didn’t warn us”
Survivors also have to face acts of looting and theft. The police announced that they had already detained 50 people. To deal with the situation, 500 additional soldiers were deployed Friday morning in the region and 500 others will be deployed on Saturday, the president of the Valencia region, Carlos Mazón, and the Minister of the Interior, Fernando, announced to the press. Great Marlaska.
These reinforcements will bring the number of soldiers deployed in the Valencia region to 2,200. Proof of the seriousness of the situation, the Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, assured that the government was ready to send “the 120,000 men of the army if necessary” and to leave them there as long as possible. 'it will be necessary.
Floods in Spain: the terrible toll – 01/11
The army's priorities are to reopen the roads to allow the delivery of aid, particularly food, but also to help in the search for missing people, the exact number of which is not known, but is very high. . The government admitted on Thursday that there were “dozens and dozens”, suggesting an extraordinarily heavy human toll and undoubtedly unprecedented for a natural disaster in the contemporary history of Spain.
An officer from the Civil Guard divers unit (the equivalent of the Gendarmerie), Commander Pizarro, declared on public radio that the discovery of bodies was “permanent”.
“There are mountains of cars” in the mud, testified Amparo Fort, the mayor of Chiva, a town near Valencia. “Many are empty, but for others it is clear that they have occupants.”
Alerted too late to the seriousness of the situation, many people were surprised in their cars. The incomprehension and anger of the residents persisted three days after the tragedy. “They didn't warn us,” accused Isabel Ruiz, 58, who was patiently waiting to receive help in Paiporta.
“The disaster would have occurred, because it cannot be avoided, but people living in low-lying areas could have taken shelter,” she assures. “The alarm was sent when the water was already up to our knees.” Directly accused, particularly in the press, the president of the Valencia region has not yet responded to these criticisms.
No more red vigilance
In this dismal panorama, Friday, a public holiday in Spain, nevertheless gave rise to tremendous spontaneous demonstrations of solidarity. In the morning, thousands of people – carrying brooms, shovels, food and even diapers – left Valencia, a city which was not affected by the floods, on foot to go to devastated neighboring towns. . “We took what we found at home,” commented Federico Martínez.
The number of these volunteers was such that the authorities called on them to stay at home. “It is imperative, imperative, that they return home” so as not to hinder traffic, launched Carlos Mazón, adding that he was considering restrictive measures “not only for vehicles, but also for pedestrians”.
If the sun shone on Valencia on Friday, vigilance remained in order in certain areas of southern Spain. The National Meteorological Agency (Aemet) has warned that heavy rainfall will continue this weekend. The red alert declared in the morning in the province of Huelva, in Andalusia, has been reduced to the orange level.
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