Iran Press/ Europe: Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced the reinforcements on Saturday as recovery efforts continue in what has become Spain’s deadliest natural disaster in recent history.
The flood death toll now stands at 205. Of those, 202 were found in Valencia, with two bodies recovered in neighboring Castilla-La Mancha and one in Andalusia in the south. The disaster has left Spain reeling, with rescue teams still combing through waterlogged buildings and abandoned cars for more victims, four days after sudden flash floods swept through eastern Spain. Authorities have yet to account for an unknown number of people still missing.
Thousands of volunteers have joined the cleanup, working tirelessly to remove layers of thick mud coating streets, homes, and businesses in the most severely impacted areas.
Currently, some 2,000 soldiers, almost 2,500 Civil Guard officers, and 1,800 national police are involved in the emergency response. Civil Guard personnel have completed 4,500 rescues since the floods began.
Spain’s prolonged two-year drought has exacerbated the flooding, as the parched ground was unable to absorb the sudden, heavy rainfall. This tragedy surpasses Spain’s previous deadliest flood in August 1996, when 87 people were killed after flash floods swept through a campsite along the Gallego River in the northeast.
Satellite images reveal the extent of the devastation in Valencia, with entire neighborhoods submerged and the V-33 highway buried under a thick layer of mud. In the town of Masanasa, just outside Valencia, local resident Emilio Cuartero described the destruction: “The situation is unbelievable. It’s a disaster, and there is very little help. We need machinery, cranes, access to sites, and basic supplies like bread and water.”
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