Deadly Spain floods: Valencia hardest hit with 95 dead
A sudden flood inundated towns in the southeast of Spain, forcing residents to flee the natural disaster as swiftly as possible. The Spanish police have released footage of the night-time rescue operations.
31 October 2024 08:56
On Wednesday, Spanish authorities reported that at least 95 people have died as a result of the sudden flood, and rescue services are attempting to locate dozens of missing individuals.
The region of Valencia was the hardest hit by the disaster, with 92 deaths reported there, according to Angel Victor Torres, Spain's Minister of Territorial Policy and Democratic Memory. However, significant damage was also recorded in Castile-La Mancha and Andalusia, with a total of three people losing their lives in these areas.
Dramatic police footage
The Spanish police have released footage of evacuation operations. Residents of the Malaga region were evacuated by helicopters, and the services searched the flooded towns using night vision cameras from the helicopters. The film shows a group of people who had escaped to the roof of a container, where they lit a fire. Upon seeing the helicopter, they began to wave at it. The footage later shows rescuers transporting people by inflatable boat.
Further recordings were made in Torrent and Valencia's regions, illustrating the flood's catastrophic effects. Debris that had floated in with the water can be seen on one of the bridges. One of the buildings caught fire. Additionally, there are scenes of flooded roads, with abandoned cars left stranded in the middle.
Most motorways became completely impassable on Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning. Vehicles abandoned in traffic jams were displaced by the water and lifted from their original positions.
Everything is caused by DANA
The severe storms and floods that hit eastern Spain are the result of an atmospheric phenomenon known as DANA (Spanish: depresión aislada en niveles altos, or isolated depression at high levels) or "cold drop". This occurs when cold air masses meet warm and humid air over the Mediterranean Sea, causing atmospheric instability.
The cold air mass, isolated from the original stream, constitutes DANA. It rises at lower levels, resulting in extreme weather conditions such as storms, tornadoes, or floods.
