At least 95 people have been killed and dozens more are reported missing after torrential flooding in Spain dumped 13 inches of rain in 4 hours in the Valencia region. Homes were destroyed when rising water poured in through the windows and doors. Cars tumbled down the street, landing in piles on top of one another, their lights still shining in the foggy, flooded streets.
The lack of warning left citizens across eastern and southern areas of Spain caught inside of their homes or stranded on top of their cars. Many did not survive. Those who did were left waiting on rescue choppers and rubber boats to reach them.
A post from Reuters reported that a year’s worth of rain fell in just one day, causing rail systems to close, destroying citrus farms, and sending muddy water churning down the highways and through the city streets. One witness saw the doors ripped off of a gas station, where he spent the rest of the night on a ledge, waiting to be saved.
The storming began on Tuesday, and was still going strong the next day. It is being called the “worst natural disaster” to occur in Spain within years.
Ricardo Gabaldon, the mayor of a town in Valencia known as Utiel, called it the worst day of his life. He described watching the water rise up to almost ten feet high and added, “We were trapped like rats. Cars and trash containers were flowing down the streets…”
