Spain Sending Thousands More Soldiers to Flood-Hit Area

Last Update:02 November 2024 17:04 IST

Almost all of the deaths were recorded in the eastern Valencia region, where thousands of security and emergency service personnel frantically cleared debris in search of bodies.

In Valencia, people walk on flooded streets. (AP photo)

Spain will deploy an additional 10,000 soldiers and police officers to the eastern Valencia region, which has been devastated by historic flooding that has killed 211 people, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Saturday.

Hopes of finding survivors were slim more than three days after towns were submerged in muddy waters and ruined infrastructure in the deadliest such disaster the European country has experienced in decades.

Almost all of the deaths were recorded in the eastern Valencia region, where thousands of security and emergency service personnel frantically cleared debris and mud in search of bodies.

In his televised speech, Sanchez stated that the disaster was the second deadliest flood in Europe this century and announced that the number of security forces for aid efforts had been greatly increased.

Sanchez said the government accepted the Valencia regional leader’s request for 5,000 additional soldiers and informed him that 5,000 more police officers and civil guards would be deployed.

He added that Spain carried out its largest peacetime deployment of army and security force personnel.

More deaths expected

Restoring order and distributing aid to devastated towns and villages, where some have been without food, water and electricity for days, is a priority.

While the authorities were criticized for the adequacy of their warning systems before the flood, some aggrieved residents complained that the response to the disaster was too slow.

“I am aware that the response is not enough, that there are problems and serious shortages… towns buried in mud, desperate people looking for their relatives,” Sanchez said. he said.

Essential supplies have been delivered to all accessible settlements “from day one”, Valencia region vice president Susana Camarero told reporters on Saturday.

But he added that it was “logical” for affected residents to want more.

Authorities in the Valencia region restricted access to roads for two days so emergency services could conduct search, rescue and logistics operations more effectively.

Officials said dozens of people were still missing.

However, it is difficult to determine an exact figure due to serious damage to telephone and transportation networks.

Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska told radio station Cadena Ser on Friday that it was “reasonable” to believe more deaths would emerge.

It is also hoped that the estimated number of missing persons will decrease once telephone and internet services are operational again.

We are ‘overwhelmed’ by solidarity

Thousands of ordinary citizens, pushing shopping carts and carrying cleaning supplies, took to the streets on Friday to help with cleanup efforts.

Camarero said some municipalities were “overwhelmed by the amount of solidarity and food they received.”

An AFP journalist saw the surge in gatherings continue on Saturday, with around 1,000 people heading from the Mediterranean coastal city of Valencia to nearby towns devastated by floods.

Authorities urged them to stay at home to avoid road congestion that would disrupt the work of emergency services.

The storm that caused flooding on Tuesday was caused by cold air moving over the warm waters of the Mediterranean and is common this time of year.

But scientists warn that climate change caused by human activities is increasing the severity, duration and frequency of such extreme weather events.

(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – AFP)