At least 95 people dead after devastating floods in Valencia | Newstalk
With 95 people confirmed dead in flash floods in the Valencia region, Anton Savage speaks with Graham Keeley (Spain Correspondent for the Independent) and Dermot Hurley (Founder and President of the Valencia Irish Cultural Association) about the effort to find missing people, the damage done, and how the recovery operation going? At least 95 people are now believed to have died in the catastrophic flooding in southeastern Spain. Cars were swept through streets, a train was derailed and buildings were damaged as parts of the country got half a year’s rain in a matter of hours. More than 1,000 soldiers have been called in to flood-damaged areas – and three days of mourning have been declared. Some 92 people were killed in the eastern Valencia region and two died in the central Castilla La Mancha area. Another person died in the Andalusia region. 63-year-old Javier Berenguer said his bakery was destroyed in the flooding. “I had to get out of a window as best I could because the water was already coming up to my shoulders,” he said. “I took refuge on the first floor with the neighbours and I stayed there all night keeping an eye out. “It has taken everything – everything.” Destruction In Letur, near the Sierra de Segura mountain range, 30 people were trapped after the river running through the town burst its banks. The local mayor, Sergio Marin Sanchez, said six people in the region were missing. Dozens of videos on social media appeared to show people trapped in floodwater, several of them hanging on to trees to avoid being swept away. Helicopters were used to rescue some people from their homes. Other videos shared by Spanish broadcasters showed water rising into the lower levels of homes and carrying cars through the street. “Spain will be with you” Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said in a news conference that “we are united and we will rebuild your streets and your squares and bridges”, telling those affected: “Spain will be with you.” He said the government’s crisis committee would work “hand in hand” with local authorities and town mayors for “24 hours a day, as long as the emergency goes on”. However, he cautioned that the “devastating event” may not be over, as forecasters predict further storms into Thursday. Scientists have warned that increased episodes of extreme weather, like flash floods, or the wildfires seen elsewhere in Europe in the summer, are likely linked to human-driven climate change. Meteorologists believe the warming of the Mediterranean, which increases water evaporation, plays a key role in making torrential rains more severe. Separately a new study has found that climate change worsened all 10 of the deadliest weather events in the past two decades. These dangerous weather events have come after the world has seen 1.3C global warming above pre-industrial levels. Global temperatures are currently on track to rise 3C above pre=-industrial levels by the end of the century. #spain #valencia #flood