Flash floods in Spain have killed 214 people and the government has launched its biggest recovery operation yet

The the deadliest flash floods in Spain’s modern history At least 214 people were killed and dozens are still missing four days after torrential rains lashed the eastern region of Valencia, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Saturday.

In a televised statement, Sanchez said the government was sending 5,000 more troops to help with the search and cleanup, in addition to the 2,500 soldiers already deployed.

“This is the biggest peacetime operation by the Spanish armed forces,” Sanchez said. “The government is going to mobilize all necessary resources while they are needed.”

Regional authorities in Valencia said on Saturday night that the total number of deaths in the region was 211, plus two in Castilla-La Mancha and one in Andalusia.

This tragedy has already become the worst flooding in Europe since 1967, when at least 500 people died in Portugal.

Hopes of finding survivors were raised when rescuers found a woman alive after three days trapped in a car park in Moncada, Valencia. Residents erupted in applause when Civil Defense chief Martin Perez announced the news.

On Saturday, volunteers gathered at Valencia’s City of Arts and Sciences center for the first coordinated clean-up organized by the regional authorities. The place has been turned into a nerve center for surgery.

In the Valencia suburb of Picaña, 74-year-old shop owner Emilia told Reuters on Saturday: “We feel abandoned, there are many people who need help. It’s not just my house, it’s all houses, and we throw away furniture, we throw away everything.

“When will the help come to put in refrigerators and washing machines? Because we can’t even wash our clothes and we can’t even take a shower.”

Maria Jose Gilabert, a 52-year-old nurse who also lives in Picaña, said: “We are devastated because there is little light here now, not because they don’t come to help, they come from all over Spain, but because a lot will pass time before this area becomes habitable again.”

The The storm prompted a new weather warning in the Balearic Islands, Catalonia and Valencia, where rain is expected to continue over the weekend.

Scientists say extreme weather events are becoming more frequent in Europe and elsewhere due to climate change. Meteorologists believe that the warming of the Mediterranean Sea, which increases the evaporation of water, plays a key role in increasing the torrential rains.