Spain: Thousands of people are still waiting to be rescued

Meanwhile, the question is being raised as to whether the warning of the impending danger was given too late.

After the severe storms in Spain, rescue operations are continuing. The emergency services have now been able to reach all of the affected regions, said the head of government of the Valencia region, Carlos Mazón.

At least 95 people have died in the floods and flash floods, 92 of the victims were rescued in the Valencia region. Authorities are still unable to provide any concrete information on how many people are missing. It is therefore feared that the number of deaths could rise.

At least, according to Mazón, all of the residents who had taken refuge on rooftops have now been rescued by helicopter.

Around 70 air missions were necessary for this. The civil protection service, fire brigade, police and soldiers of the Spanish military are involved in the rescue work.

Probably more than 1,000 people still trapped in cars

However, rescue operations had to be partially suspended overnight, said the head of the Spanish Red Cross’s emergency department, Iñigo Vila. According to the dpa news agency, thousands of people are still waiting for help, waiting in vehicles, houses and villages. During the night, numerous motorways and country roads remained impassable. Rail traffic was also significantly affected. Around 115,000 households were without power, and there were also ongoing problems with cell phone connections.

A spokesman for the Guardia Civil police unit estimated on Wednesday evening that around 1,200 people were still stuck in cars, buses or trucks on the A3 and A7 motorways. But there were also many who did not want to leave their vehicles. In the Valencia region in particular, around 5,000 vehicles are said to be stuck, some abandoned, some with people trapped inside. Many thousands of people are said to have sought shelter from the floodwaters in trains, houses, offices, schools and shopping centres.

Accusations of inadequate warnings

While rescue operations continue at full speed, accusations are increasingly being made that the population was warned too late and not sufficiently of the impending danger.

After all, the risks associated with the weather phenomenon “Dana” are known, according to the media and discussions on the Internet. It occurs more frequently in the south and east of Spain at the beginning of autumn, when the first Atlantic lows with damp, cold air move over the warm Mediterranean.

Valencia’s Prime Minister Mazón clearly rejected the criticism. The first warnings were already issued on Sunday. Those responsible had strictly adhered to civil protection protocols. Experts such as meteorologist Francisco Martín León also contradicted the accusations. Such “brutal consequences” could not have been predicted because they depend on various factors, he stressed to the news agency Europa Press. The weather service Aemet issued severe weather warnings of levels three (yellow), two (orange) and one (red) to provide sufficient and timely information.

Three days of national mourning declared

Spain has been in effect for three days of national mourning since this morning. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez is due to travel to the Valencia region later today to assess the extent of the disaster. On Wednesday, the Spanish government had already promised the affected areas and the population rapid help with reconstruction.

In addition to Valencia, other regions on the Mediterranean such as Andalusia and Murcia as well as Castile-La Mancha are also affected. The weather service Aemet described the extent of the storms as “historic”. They were the worst of their kind in Valencia this century. In some places, as much rain fell in one day as would normally fall in a year. Countless streets quickly turned into raging torrents, several rivers overflowed their banks. Buildings and fields were flooded. Roads, houses and smaller bridges collapsed. Trees, containers, cars, trucks and people were swept away by the water like toys.