Reuters. Aerials showed extensive damage in eastern Spain's flood-hit areas, where torrential rainfall led to the most severe flooding the country has seen in 30 years and killed at least 90 people in the eastern Valencia region. Spanish police located stranded people perched on rooftops during overnight search and rescue operations.
Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said the government will use all necessary means to help victims of the deadly flash floods. Spain’s King Felipe said all resources were deployed in search and rescue operations following Valencia’s devastating floods killing dozens of people after a year's worth of rain fell in one day.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the European Union is willing to offer to help Spain, which is facing devastating flooding that has left roads and towns underwater. Members of the Spanish military emergency unit rescued an elderly couple in the devastated town of Letur, in Castille La Mancha region.
Encarna Rivero, 88, and her husband Jose Tomas, 89, were assisted after being stranded at a neighbour's home, as heavy rains caused flooding, destroying homes and washing debris through the town in Albacete province. Flood survivor Denis Hlavaty said he had been through "a living hell" as he spent the night on a shelf, trapped in a flooded petrol station where he worked in Valencia.
Video posted on social media showed a street in the Spanish city of Valencia filled with floodwater. Reuters was able to confirm the video's location from the buildings and road layout which matched satellite and file imagery of the area. The dates were verified by the original file metadata from the source.
With the effects of climate change expected to lead to more severe flooding in the future, a professor of hydrology said on Wednesday (October 30) there was a need for better communication to warn people about the risks and what to do to protect themselves.
Hannah Cloke, Professor of Hydrology at the University of Reading said that despite the forecasts, the information did not reach people in time.
