At least 205 people died In monster floods occurred Tuesday evening in the south-east of Spain, emergency services indicated this Friday. “At present, and provisionally, the number of victims is 202 people” for the region of Valencia alone, according to a press release from the emergency services of this region, by far the most bereaved by the tragedy. Two other deaths took place in the neighboring region of Castile-La Mancha and one in Andalusia. Many people are still missing and the research continues.
This Friday, a southwestern part of Andalusia is kept in red alert by the Spanish meteorological agency. The region is also on orange alert for thunderstorms and part of the community of Valencia and Catalonia is on orange alert for rain.
Military reinforcements to help the victims
Research continues to try to find survivors. The Spanish Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, announced the arrival of 500 additional soldiers in the south-east of the country, to reinforce the 1,200 already present, to participate in victim aid operations. The army’s priority is 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. .
This reinforcement was a pressing request from the president of the Valencia region, Carlos Mazón, whose government is struggling to cope with a dramatic situationwith large numbers of victims and devastated roads.
Victor Fernandez/Europa Press
At the same time, scenes of looting took place, with the government announcing the arrest of 39 people and promising that security forces would show “absolute firmness“.
MotoGP Valencia Grand Prix canceled
The organizers of the MotoGP Valencia Grand Prix, scheduled for November 15 to 17, announced this Friday its cancellation due to flooding. It was to be the last round of the world championship.
A new circuit will be announced soon to host the final race of the season, said the MotoGP promoter.
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