Spanish authorities are reporting at least 51 deaths as a result of the devastating floods

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — At least 51 people have died in Spain’s eastern Valencia region after flash floods swept away cars, turned village streets into rivers and disrupted rail lines and highways in the worst natural disaster to hit the European country in recent years. .

Emergency services in the eastern region of Valencia confirmed the death toll on Wednesday.

Rain on Tuesday caused flooding in southern and eastern Spain. Streams of muddy water threw vehicles through the streets at breakneck speed. Pieces of wood circled together with household items. Police and emergency services used helicopters to lift people from their homes and cars.

Authorities reported several missing on Tuesday night, but the next morning there was a shocking report of dozens of dead bodies being found.

More than 1,000 soldiers from Spain’s emergency response units were sent to the devastated areas.

“Yesterday was the worst day of my life,” Ricardo Gabaldón, mayor of Utiel in Valencia, told national broadcaster RTVE. According to him, several people are still missing in his city.

“We fell into a trap like rats. Cars and garbage containers flowed through the streets. The water rose up to three meters,” he said.

Spain survived similar autumn storms in recent years, but nothing compared to the devastation of the past two days.

The death toll could easily rise as other regions have yet to report casualties and the search continues in hard-to-reach areas. In the village of Letur in the neighboring Castilla-La Mancha region, Mayor Sergio Marin Sánchez said six people were missing.

A high-speed train with nearly 300 people on board derailed near Malaga, although railway authorities said no one was injured. The high-speed train service between Valencia and Madrid was suspended, as were several suburban lines.

The regional president of Valencia, Carlos Mason, urged people to stay at home to avoid complicating rescue efforts, with road travel already complicated by fallen trees and wrecked cars.

“The area is destroyed, all the cars are on top of each other, it’s literally broken,” Cristian Viena, a bar owner in the Valencian village of Barrio de la Torre, said by phone. “Everything is full of ruins, everything is ready to be thrown away. The depth of the mud is almost 30 centimeters.”

Spain’s central government has set up a crisis committee to coordinate rescue efforts.

The rain in Valencia subsided by late Wednesday morning. But according to Spain’s national meteorological service, more storms are forecast until Thursday.

Spain is still recovering from a severe drought earlier this year. Scientists say that episodes of extreme weather are becoming more frequent probably related to climate change.

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Associated Press reporter Teresa Medrano in Madrid contributed to this report.