Spain floods latest: three days of mourning declared after dozens killed – as storm heads north | Spain

The mayor of a small town in the region of Valencia has described the situation in her municipality as “Dantesque,” saying she had never seen anything like it in her life.

“This is a disaster,” Consuelo Tarazona, the mayor of Horno de Alcedo, told broadcaster RTVE.

“The whole town is flooded. Cars have been swept away, there’s a lorry in the middle of the highway. Walls have fallen, fences have fallen, everything has fallen.”

While nobody in her town of 1,300 had died or gone missing, “we went through a rough time,” she said.

“Firefighters were rescuing people from the water; families who were up to their necks in water,” she said. “The firefighters had to travel by dinghy, they couldn’t get through (the water) with their trucks.”

Though the rain had subsided, the municipality continued to reel from the consequences of the storm, she said.

“We still have a lot of water, we can’t get through,” she said. “We just had a fire in a paint factory and we’re dealing with toxic smoke … we received the emergency warning but never expected anything like this.”

Local officials across Spain have warned residents to heed only official channels amid concerns about misinformation circulating on social media.

Carlos Mazón, the leader of the Valencia region, said Wednesday that hoaxes had circulated about further flooding and evacuation orders being issued for municipalities He urged people to consult “only official channels.”

The city of Valencia also resorted to issuing a statement after misinformation on social media saw supermarket shelves quickly emptied of bottled water. “Drinking water is guaranteed in the city of Valencia and meets public health requirements. There have also been no cuts in the city’s network,” the statement noted.

The municipality of Manises in Valencia issued a direct appeal to residents. “Please do not spread false information,” it noted on social media.

Portugal’s prime minister, Luís Montenegro, has said the country remains ready to provide Spain with whatever help may be needed.

“The Portuguese government expresses its strongest condolences over the high number of flood victims in Spain, shows solidarity with all the Spanish people and the government and makes itself available for all necessary help,” he said on social media.

Number of people confirmed dead rises to at least 72

Weather agency warns of strong rains in Spain’s northeast

Spain declares three days of mourning

More pictures are coming in to us now from flood-hit Valencia – as the clean-up starts. Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez has told those affected to remain ‘on their guard’

Today’s flash floods are reported to have been the worst to have affected Spain since 1996.

Back then, 87 people died when torrential rain hit an area in a town in the Pyrenees mountains.

As we reported in our post earlier at 11.38GMT, climate scientists have warned torrential rains are set to get stronger as the planet heats up.

Ernesto Rodríguez Camino, senior state meteorologist and member of Spanish Meteorological Association, said: “These types of intense and exceptional, rare rainfall events are going to become more frequent and more intense and, therefore, destructive.”

Spain floods: What we know so far

As we reported earlier, the EU has offered support to Spain.

In a post on social media, Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the EU Commission noted that “Europe is ready to help.”

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, she reiterated the message, adding that the EU’s thoughts were with the victims of the floods as well as the rescue teams working frantically to locate the missing.

She added:

What we are seeing is devastating; entire villages are covered with mud, people seeking refuge on trees and cars swept away by the fury of the waters.”

Death toll climbs to 64