Storms in Spain: Many deaths feared in flooded underground car parks

After the storm disaster in Valencia, eastern Spain, the neighboring region of Catalonia is now being hit by heavy rainfall. The airport in the regional capital Barcelona had already canceled around 70 flights and diverted 18 in the morning, said the airport management authority Aena. Media such as the regional newspaper “El Periódico” published videos and images showing a flooded runway.

Some of the water also ran through the ceiling into the interior of the airport. Spanish Transport Minister Óscar Puente reported on X that there were leaks in some areas of the airport’s terminals and parking lots. At the request of civil defense, all regional rail traffic was temporarily suspended, the minister also announced.

Puente also reported a landslide on Highway 27 that was affecting traffic. A lead has now been opened there. According to Spanish media reports, several streets in Catalonia in northeastern Spain were flooded. According to media reports, 150 educational institutions canceled classes.

The coastal region around the provincial capital Barcelona is particularly affected by the storm in Catalonia. The red warning level issued for this area in the morning has now been reduced by two levels to yellow by the Aemet weather service. Residents had received warning messages from civil defense on their cell phones, recommending, among other things, to stay at home if possible and avoid unnecessary journeys.

Many more deaths feared in flooded underground car parks

Almost a week later the so-called storm of the century in eastern Spain with more than 200 deaths The search for missing people in the disaster area continues. All eyes have recently been focused on a shopping center in Aldaia, a suburb of the provincial capital Valencia. The water is pumped out of the underground parking lot with 2,700 spaces. There are fears that bodies could be discovered there and in other underground car parks.

“The emergency services have already searched around 20 vehicles, but have not found any bodies,” said Aldaia Mayor Guillermo Luján on the state TV station RTVE. Luján put the dramatizing reports in some media into perspective. “The parking lot was almost empty; we estimate that fewer than 100 vehicles were parked there at the time of the flooding.” You have to be careful, there are exaggerated representations in circulation.

213 dead in Valencia alone

The official death toll is 217 – 213 in the province of Valencia alone, which is popular with holidaymakers. In addition, many people are still considered missing – there is still no official number. A few media outlets have been writing for days about 1,500, 2,000 or even 2,500 missing people. However, there are no sources for these numbers. They are probably based on the emergency calls, some of which were received by the authorities at the beginning of the storm. “We cannot speculate,” said the Minister of Territorial Policy, Ángel Víctor Torres, on this issue. You have to proceed seriously.

In the meantime, it is not only the remains of disappeared people that are being recovered. People who are considered missing often turn up in many places. Most recently, pensioner Josefa, as police officer Iván García reported on RTVE on Monday. “The joy of the relatives and friends at the reunion was enormous, indescribable,” said the official. “She was at home the whole time but couldn’t be contacted.” There are also still “many people who are completely disoriented”.

No more severe weather warnings in the disaster area

Meanwhile, the clean-up and rescue work was getting better and better. On Monday, in addition to around 10,000 police officers from the Policía Nacional and the Guardia Civil, more than 7,500 military personnel were already on duty. They were supported by the fire department and civil defense as well as countless volunteers. The cleanup is expected to take many days and even weeks. The reconstruction is likely to take months.

In Valencia on Tuesday, some towns received as much rain in just a few hours as usual in a year. There should be no significant rainfall in the disaster area on Monday.

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