Spain. Weather chaos, there are fatalities

92 victims of Tuesday's floods were reported in the autonomous community of Valencia, and two people died in the Castile-La Mancha region. Additionally, a 71-year-old man in the province of Malaga in Andalusia, rescued from his home from floods, died in hospital, local authorities reported. Previously, 73 deaths were reported.

The number of dead may increase because many people are still missing and the services still have no access to some places.

According to Reuters, this is the deadliest flood in this Iberian country since 1996.

The downpours resulted in rushing waters in city streets and destruction, especially in the provinces of Valencia, Albacete and Malaga. The water carried away everything in its path. In many places, there are dozens of overturned passenger cars on the roads. The railway tracks were damaged.

Residents, surprised by the rapidly rising water, sought shelter on the roofs of their houses. On Tuesday, the services carried out evacuation operations using helicopters.

Over 1.5 thousand people were mobilized for rescue operations. soldiers from units specializing in this type of tasks. The head of Valencia's regional government, Carlos Mazon, urged people to stay at home.

In Valencia, floods paralyzed transport. Trains and buses were canceled, the subway was closed, and many flights were diverted or canceled. High-speed rail connections to Madrid may not be restored until a few days later, the Transport Ministry announced. Main access roads to Valencia are closed. Water supplies were suspended in several municipalities in the province due to damage to the transmission network.

Energy company Iberdrola reported that storms resulted in a lack of services in the province of Valencia for approximately 150,000 of its customers. Many gas stations in Valencia were destroyed, reports EFE. Farmers in Andalusia, Castilla-La Mancha and Valencia fear that crop losses will amount to millions of euros.

– To those who are still looking for their loved ones at this moment, I can tell you that all of Spain is crying with you, said the country's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in a televised speech. – I say the same to the villages and cities destroyed by this tragedy: together we will rebuild your streets, your squares, your bridges – he added.

Members of the Congress of Deputies, the lower house of the Spanish parliament, honored the memory of the flood victims with a minute of silence

The government has decided to declare three days of mourning in Spain on Thursday.

King Felipe VI of Spain expressed his condolences to the families of the victims. – Together with the Queen, we would like to express our condolences to all affected families who have lost loved ones and who still do not know what happened to their relatives – emphasized the monarch, who is in constant contact with the government.

Support for regions affected by natural disasters is offered by other Spanish autonomous communities, including: Aragon, Galicia or Cantabria. It includes, among others: helicopters, drones, fire trucks, pumps and personnel.

Help was also declared by, among others, Germany and Portugal. The head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, informed, among others: to activate the Copernicus satellite system to help coordinate rescue operations. The President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, and the head of EU diplomacy, Josep Borrell, also expressed their willingness to help.

The leader of the opposition People's Party (PP), Alberto Nunez Feijoo, went to the commune of Letur in the province of Albacete, one of the most affected by the disaster. The politician asked the head of the European Commission for a quick EU response and financial assistance for the reconstruction of the destroyed areas, including, among others, EU Solidarity Fund, intended for reconstruction after natural disasters.

Athletes and Spanish teams show solidarity with the victims. Valencia CF has transformed its stadium in the Mestalla district into a warehouse for food and first aid supplies. The upcoming matches of Valencia teams have been postponed.

The current heavy rainfall is the result of an atmospheric phenomenon known in Spain as DANA (Spanish: depresion aislada en niveles altos). It forms when cold air meets warm and moist air over the Mediterranean Sea, creating atmospheric instability and, consequently, extreme weather phenomena such as storms, tornadoes and floods.

According to data from the state meteorological agency AEMET, the commune of Chiva, north of Valencia, recorded a rainfall of 491 liters per square meter in just eight hours. This is more than the average annual rainfall of 460 l/sq m.

On Wednesday, Catalonia and Aragon in the northeast and Cadiz, located in the south in Andalusia, will face storms. A red alert was issued in Catalonia due to the risk of tornadoes and hail, and in Barcelona, ​​heavy rains closed several metro stations. AEMET has issued a red alert in Cadiz, Andalusia, until the end of Wednesday. More than 1,100 incidents have been reported in this autonomous community since the storms began on Monday.