Spain’s flood death toll rises to 205 as shock turns to anger and frustration

CHIVA, Spain. — The number of dead from historical flash floods the death toll in Spain rose to at least 205 on Friday, with many more missing, as initial shock gave way to anger, frustration and a wave of solidarity.

Spain’s emergency authorities said 202 victims were in the eastern region of Valencia, and officials warned that rain was expected in the coming days.

The damage from the storm on Tuesday and Wednesday resembled the aftermath of a tsunami, and survivors were left to pick up debris as they mourned loved ones killed in Spain’s worst natural disaster in living memory. Many streets were still closed vehicles and garbagein some cases trapping residents in their homes. In some places, there is still no electricity, water or stable telephone connection.

“The situation is incredible. It’s a disaster and there’s very little help,” said Emilio Cuartero from Masanasa, on the outskirts of the city of Valencia. “We need equipment, cranes, so that we can drive to the sites. We need a lot of help. And bread and water.”

In Chiva, residents cleaned the streets covered with mud. More rain fell in the city of Valencia in eight hours on Tuesday than in the previous 20 months, and the water overflowed the ravine that cuts through the city, rupturing roads and homes.

The mayor of Amparo Fort told RNE radio that “whole houses have disappeared, we don’t know if there were people inside or not.”

So far, 205 bodies have been found: 202 in Valencia, two in neighboring Castile-La Mancha and one in Andalusia in the south. Employees of law enforcement agencies and 1,700 military personnel from the ambulance unit search for an unknown number of missing persons. Officials fear that more bodies may be found in wrecked cars and flooded garages.

Ministry of Interior Fernando Grande-Marlasca said at a press conference in Valencia.

Regional authorities, which are in charge of responding to the tragedy, have asked central authorities to mobilize an additional 500 soldiers, who will be deployed on Saturday.

“I spent my whole life there, all my memories are there, my parents lived there … and now, overnight, everything is gone,” Chiva resident Juan Vicente Perez, near where he lost his home, told The Associated Press. “If we had waited another five minutes, we would not be here in this world.”

Satellite images of the city of Valencia before and after illustrated the scale of the disaster, showing the transformation of the Mediterranean metropolis into a landscape flooded with muddy water. Highway V-33 was completely covered in a thick brown layer of dirt.

The tragedy caused a wave of solidarity across the country. Throughout the morning, hundreds of residents arrived on foot to the worst-hit areas, carrying water, essentials, shovels and brooms to help clear the mud. The number of people coming to help is so great that authorities have asked them not to drive or walk there because they are blocking roads needed by emergency services.

“It is very important that you come home,” said regional president Carlos Mason, who thanked the volunteers for their good will.

In addition to volunteer contributions, local authorities have started distributing water, food and basic products at schools, town halls and sports grounds.

The Red Cross used its extensive aid network to help flood victims. It has carried out more than 3,500 interventions since Tuesday, half of them in 13 shelters set up by authorities to distribute food, blankets and hygiene products, as well as internet access.

“There will be quite serious consequences. People who were already vulnerable will become even more and we are going to find new needs because there are people who have lost their means of livelihood,” said Ana Gómez, spokeswoman for the Red Cross in Valencia.

And more storms are expected. Skies were partly sunny in Valencia on Friday, but the Spanish Meteorological Agency warned of heavy rain in the region, as well as on the coast of Huelva, Andalusia; Tarragona, Catalonia; and part of the Balearic Islands.

The storm knocked out power and water Tuesday night, but about 85 percent of the 155,000 affected customers had power restored by Friday, the utility said in a statement.

“This is a disaster. There are many elderly people who do not have medicine. There are children who do not have food. We have no milk, no water. We don’t have access to anything,” a resident of Alfafar, one of the worst-hit towns in southern Valencia, told state-run TVE. “No one even came to warn us on the first day.”