The death toll from heavy storms in eastern and southern Spain reached 213 on Sunday and many people are still missing.
Emergency services in the worst-hit Mediterranean region of Valencia said 213 people were known to have died, state broadcaster RTVE reported.
Severe weather continues to hit Spain’s Mediterranean coast. An orange warning – the second highest level – is in force in parts of the Valencia region, including the province of Castellón, where heavy rainfall is possible.
Recovery efforts are now in their sixth day. Searching is especially difficult in tunnels and flooded underground parking garages or parking garages.
On Saturday, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced that another 5,000 soldiers and 5,000 police officers would be deployed. Spain’s central government in Madrid says more than 3,600 troops are currently deployed in the worst-hit areas near the city of Valencia.
Previously, there had been harsh criticism, especially from the affected cities, which had been left to their own devices in the first days. In many of the 15 or so worst-affected villages, roads remain blocked by piled-up cars or stranded household goods and covered in thick mud.
Aid is now arriving in many of these villages, partly thanks to the efforts of many volunteers, and the power supply is largely functioning again.
In the area west and south of the city of Valencia, heavy rainfall turned an otherwise dry riverbed into a raging torrent on Tuesday and flowed towards the sea through several villages, causing serious damage.
