Spain, Valencia. Tragic flood. El Pais: Cars have become a death trap. There is a lesson from the disaster

On Tuesday and Wednesday, the Spanish region of Valencia was hit by the worst flooding in nearly 30 years. The water flowing with incredible force took away everything in its path, leaving behind an incredible landscape of destruction. It was the country's deadliest flood in decades. According to preliminary data, over 200 people died in the disaster.

However, the scale of the disaster is so large that…Spain will need time to know the total death toll. Even on Saturday, many places were cut off from the world and help could not reach them. Access was hindered by, among other things, vehicles pushed by the element, which the water left crowded and piled on top of each other.

SEE ALSO: This is what the flood did in Spain. Cataclysm in photos

Experts believe the flood is the result climate change in the world, and also results from the unfavorable organization of the terrain in Valencia, where residential buildings and infrastructure are located in flood zones. The Spanish coast is particularly vulnerable to this type of phenomena. It has already experienced them in the past and, as expected, it will most likely face them in the coming years.

In the context of the tragedy, questions arise as to whether such drastic consequences could have been avoided. One of the questionable issues is the state's warning system about the scale of possible threats. – Thanks to the early warning, many lives could have been saved – said geographer and climatologist Jorge Olcina in an interview for the Catalan daily “La Vanguardia”.

However, how people deal with alerts is a separate topic. Many died in their vehicles. According to the media, by Saturday morning over 2,000 had already been removed. damaged cars and trucks and hundreds of tons of debris and mud. On Saturday – after just a few days of the rescue operation – the Minister of Transport Oscar Puente reported that the bodies of the deceased were still trapped in the destroyed cars.

If more people had avoided getting into cars on the worst day of the flood, would the death toll have been different?

This is the question that the Spanish daily “El Pais” asked rescue specialists who have extensive experience in post-disaster operations in Spain and beyond.

They left no doubts. – Definitely. There is a false sense of security in a car because we think it is very heavy. But as soon as the water goes over the wheels, the car becomes unstable. And although we tend to feel less afraid of water than of fire, rushing water is very dangerous because it has enormous force and creates high pressure – emphasized Annika Coll, an architect by profession and a firefighter with almost 25 years of experience, in an interview with the newspaper.

As “El Pais” notes, in Valencia “the car was in many cases a death trap.” It was so both on the roads and in the parking lots. People trying to save their vehicles from the water died in them.

Just such a tragic situation occurred in a multi-story underground parking lot next to a supermarket in Benetusser in Valencia. There are places there for the store's customers, but also for residents who have their houses above it.

Luis Miguel Saez, 55, who lives above the parking lot, came close to death that day. He and two other men went down to the parking lot to save their car.

Although the situation looked dangerous, he managed to leave the car. He climbed the stairs to his door, where he found shelter.

– In incidents of this scale, the only important thing is saving lives. Yours and your loved ones. Cars don't matter at all, but we didn't know that would happen, he said. He argued that the alarm message arrived too late and he and others were not aware of the threat.

However, not everyone was so lucky. Local police say there may be up to 20 victims in the parking lot. Residents in the area say the smell of dead bodies, stale water and mud lingers nearby.