Thousands more troops have been sent to the worst-affected region of Valencia amid warnings of further rain to come as the death toll from catastrophic flash floods in Spain surpasses 200 people.
Spain’s prime minister Pedro Sanchez has ordered 10,000 more troops consisting of police officers and civil guards to flood-hit Valencia to boost search and rescue operations.
It is the largest ever deployment of troops that have been deployed in peacetime in the country to deal with what is already Spain’s worst flood–related disaster in modern history and the deadliest to hit Europe since the 70s.
The Spanish PM has reported that 4,800 rescues have already been made that “unfortunately, the scope of this disaster means that this is not enough”.
He admitted that much of the help was taking too long to reach blocked and flooded houses in isolated villages.
“In total we’re talking about the biggest deployment of emergency services and the army that we have ever deployed in peacetime in our country,” Mr Sanchez said.
“There are still garages and homes that are blocked and people are still trapped.”
Heavy rain that began on Monday caused the floods which have destroyed bridges and left towns covered in mud, cutting off communities and leaving them without food, water or electricity.
Speaking after chairing a meeting of the flood crisis committee, Mr Sanchez said the government was mobilising all the resources at its disposal to deal with the tragedy and he called for unity and an end to political bickering and blame games.
Criticism has been levied at authorities over the speed of the response and the lack of warnings in advance of the flooding.
The alert came too late for many as they were already trapped on roads and left at the mercy of raging torrents of water.
The death toll is expected to rise as recovery efforts continue and weather warnings are in force in north-eastern and southern Spain, with another alert issued in the Balearic Islands. Rain is expected to continue over the weekend.
In addition to the 10,000 reinforcements joining the 2,500 troops deployed earlier in the week, thousands of volunteers have arrived in Valencia to support recovery efforts.
King Charles has offered his “sincere and heartfelt condolences” to the people of Spain following the flood destruction which has already claimed so many lives.
In a message to King Felipe VI of Spain, the King wrote: “My wife and I were utterly heartbroken to learn of the destruction and devastation following the catastrophic flooding in Southern and Eastern Spain.
“So many in the United Kingdom have strong, personal ties to Spain and our nations are bound by so much that we have in common.
“We extend our most sincere and heartfelt condolences to you and to the people of Spain for the tragic loss of so many lives.
“Our special thoughts, prayers and deepest possible sympathy are with all those who have lost loved ones and livelihoods this terrible week.”
