On Tuesday, Oct. 29, heavy rain led to one of the worst meteorological catastrophes in Europe in decades, surpassing the 2021 flood in Germany, which reported around 185 deaths.
In a matter of minutes, flash floods destroyed everything in their wake, leaving people trapped in cars and buildings. By Friday, the death toll rose to 205, with people still missing. 202 out of these deaths were in Valencia, located on the Mediterranean coast. Spain hadn’t seen this much rain since the 1996 flood close to Biescas, resulting in 87 deaths. With more rain in eight hours than in the past 20 months in Chiva, this has turned into Spain’s worst flood in modern history.
Minister of Home Affairs Fernando Grande-Marlaska Gómez said in a press conference that the civil guard rescued over 4500 people trapped by the floods. Additionally, 1700 emergency unit soldiers have been deployed to aid in the search through debris and mud, with 500 more who joined on Saturday. As of Sunday, there are 217 confirmed deaths.
The mayor of Chiva, Amparo Fort, told radio RNE that “entire houses have disappeared, we don’t know if there were people inside or not.”
