Thousands of soldiers, volunteers join clean-up efforts after Spanish floods kill more than 200
An arts and science center that often hosts operas was transformed on Saturday into an emotional center for a major clean-up operation after this week's devastating floods in eastern Spain killed at least 207 people.
Volunteers went to Valencia's City of Arts and Sciences for the first coordinated cleaning organized by the regional authorities.
On Friday, the spontaneous arrival of volunteers made it difficult to reach specialist emergency workers in certain areas, prompting authorities to strategize how and where to send them.
Carlos Mazon, president of the region of Valencia, wrote in X on Friday: “Tomorrow, Saturday, at 7 am, together with the Volunteer Platform, we will launch a volunteer center to organize better, (and) transport the help of those who come to the City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia. “
Spain is also sending 5,000 soldiers and another 5,000 police to the Valencia region, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced on Saturday, amid mounting criticism of the government's response to the flooding.
About 2,000 soldiers have already been sent to search for dozens of people who are still missing and to help survivors of the storm, which has prompted a new weather warning for the Balearic Islands, Catalonia and Valencia, where rains are expected to continue over the weekend.
In some of the most affected areas, people end up defrauding people because they don't have food or water. Police said on Friday they arrested 27 people for robbing shops and offices in the Valencia area.
More than 90 percent of homes in Valencia regained power on Friday, the Iberdrola company said, although thousands were still without power in cordoned off areas that rescuers had difficulty reaching.
Officials said the death toll may continue to rise. It has become Spain's worst flood-related disaster in more than five decades and the deadliest to hit Europe since the 1970s.
People filled the streets of the town of Paiporta on Friday to try to clear the mud and debris left by the powerful, deadly floods in Spain's Valencia region.
Marc Brimble, who lives in Catarroja, said that people in the worst-hit town said this was the worst flood they had ever seen.
In Wednesday's interview with Nil Köksal, CBC broadcaster As It HappenedHe said the floods followed nearly a year of drought in much of the country.
“The rivers are dry and full of debris and dried trees and plants that when it rains, everything is washed away,” he said, adding that the people of Catarroja are struggling to find drinking water because the shops are down. the level was destroyed.
The worst weather came after Spain battled a prolonged drought in 2022 and 2023. Experts say droughts and floods are increasing due to climate change.
As It Happened7:05Spanish resident says deadly floods have turned his town into a 'disaster movie'
About 95 people have died in Spain following the floods. Marc Brimble lives in the town of Catarroja which was hit hard. In an interview with As It Happens broadcaster Nil Köksal, he describes residents trapped in their homes, cars stacked on top of each other, and water up to two meters high.
In Chiva and other parts of Valencia – Paiporta, Masanasa, Barrio de la Torre, Alfafar – a lot of mud got into houses and cars, smashed some cars and lifted and shook others.
This storm this week caused more rain in Chiva in eight hours than the city has experienced in the past 20 months. The flood caused a flash flood that brought down two of the city's four bridges, and made the third one unsafe to cross.
The floods also wiped out thousands of hectares of lemons and oranges, the main products exported to Spain.
The water has now receded and the Civil Guard divers are gone, but police continue to search the canyon, smashing homes and underground garages, worried that the mud may hide more bodies.
“All the houses have disappeared. We don't know if there were people inside or not,” Mayor Amparo Fort told RNE radio.
The storms focused on the Magro and Turia rivers and, in the Poyo area, produced walls of water that overflowed the banks of the rivers, catching people unawares as they went about their daily lives, many returning from work on Tuesday evening.
The Valencia regional government has been criticized for not sending flood warnings to mobile phones until 8:00 on Tuesday, when flooding has already started in some areas and after the national weather agency issued a red warning indicating heavy rains.
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