A flooded part of Valencia, Spain. Picture: Twitter (X)
Spanish rescue teams have discovered eight bodies on Thursday (local time) in a garage, trapped by flash flooding that killed at least 155 people in the Valencia region alone.
Overseas media reports say local authorities have not revealed how many people are still unaccounted for after Europe’s deadliest floods in years.
Spanish Defence Minister Margarita Robles says the final national death toll could be much higher.
Opposition politicians have already accused the central government in Madrid of acting too slowly to warn residents and send in rescue teams.
That criticism prompted the Interior Ministry to explain that regional authorities were responsible for civil protection.
Valencia Mayor Maria Jose Catala told reporters that a local policeman was among eight bodies found in the garage in the suburb of La Torre.
In the same neighbourhood, a 45-year-old woman was found dead in her home, she added.
Meteorologists said a year’s worth of rain fell in eight hours in parts of Valencia on Tuesday.
The floodwaters battered Valencia’s infrastructure, swept away bridges, roads and rail tracks and submerged farmland in a region that produces about two-thirds of all citrus fruit grown in Spain, a leading global exporter of oranges.
Thousands of people carrying bags or pushing shopping trolleys were seen on Thursday crossing a pedestrian bridge over the Turia River from La Torre into Valencia city centre to stock up on essential supplies.
Maribel Albalat, mayor of the nearby town of Paiporta, said they never received any warning; she said 62 people had died in her town.
About 80 km of roads in the eastern region of Spain were seriously damaged or impassable, said Transport Minister Oscar Puente. Many were blocked by abandoned cars.
“Unfortunately, there are dead bodies in some vehicles,” Puente told reporters, adding that it would take two to three weeks to re-establish the high-speed train connection between Valencia and Madrid.
Visiting a rescue co-ordination centre near Valencia city, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez urged people to stay at home due to the threat of more stormy weather.
“Right now, the most important thing is to safeguard as many lives as possible,” he told reporters.
In the rural town of Utiel, some 85 km inland, the Magro River burst its banks and sent up to three metres of water into mostly single-storey homes.
Utiel Mayor Ricardo Gabaldon said at least six people died in the town of about 12,000 people, most of them elderly or disabled people unable to clamber to safety.
