The intense rainfall affecting the Southern European country of Spain has led to a disastrous flood. Spain experienced its deadliest flood disaster since 1973, with the death toll rising to 158 and a three-day national mourning declared. Experts have warned of potentially worse disasters. Search operations continue for “many missing persons” due to the increasing deaths and new storm forecasts. Satellite images reveal the extent of the disaster in Spain, shaking the country with its deadliest flood and inundation disasters in recent history.
The Valencia region received a year’s worth of rainfall in just eight hours, resulting in the loss of at least 158 lives. The country is now trying to recover from the tragedy, with reports of dozens missing in the worst-hit Valencia region.
While Spanish rescue teams continue to search for those still missing, worsening weather forecasts have led to a storm alert in the north. Local authorities have not yet disclosed how many people remain unaccounted for, with efforts underway to identify the deceased bodies in devastated areas due to the most deadly flood disaster in Europe in recent years.
Fifty mobile morgues have been brought to the region. Defense Minister Margarita Robles warned that the death toll could increase. The magnitude of the disaster is also evident in satellite photos. Here are the before and after satellite images of Valencia…Bridges, roads, railways, and buildings have been washed away, disrupting the region’s infrastructure due to rivers overflowing from the flood.
Transport Minister Oscar Puente stated that about 80 km of roads in the eastern region were severely damaged or rendered impassable. Many roads were blocked by abandoned cars. Valencia’s agriculture lands, which produce about two-thirds of Spain’s citrus fruits, were submerged under water. Residents of the Torrent suburb on the outskirts of Valencia, hit by the devastating flood, witnessed a horror unfold in their area.
Furthermore, the Valencia-Real Madrid and Villareal-Rayo Vallecano matches in La Liga, along with three matches in the second division, have been postponed. The tragedy has been recorded as the worst flood disaster in modern Spanish history.
Meteorologists say human-induced climate change is making such extreme weather events more frequent and destructive. European officials have pointed to the destructive flood disaster in Spain as a reminder of the self-damaging effects of human destruction of nature, urging delegates stuck in a deadlock at the United Nations biodiversity conference in Colombia to “take action.”
European Commission representative Florika Fink-Hooijer stated that the disaster in Valencia highlights the connection between biodiversity loss and human-induced climate change.