HomeWorldBEFORE/AFTER. Floods in Spain: satellite images show the magnitude of the disaster

BEFORE/AFTER. Floods in Spain: satellite images show the magnitude of the disaster

Satellite images show the extent of the damage in the Valencia region after the historic floods of October 30.

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This Wednesday, October 30, Spain experienced its worst floods in more than fifty years. At least 95 people have died and many residents are missing.

Early this Thursday morning thousands of people were still without electricity in the Valencian Community, where the catastrophe hit hardest. Many roads also remain closed, while countless car accidents litter the roads, covered in mud and debris.

Satellite images show the damage caused by flooding in this region of southeastern Spain. These images, taken before and after October 30, allow us to understand the scope of the situation.

Almost a thousand soldiers are deployed on the ground, mainly in the Valencian Community, along with firefighters, police and first responders who seek to locate possible survivors and work to clear the disaster areas.

The equivalent of “one year of rainfall”

The latest balance reported by the Spanish authorities, which numbers 95 deaths, the highest since the floods that left 300 dead in October 1973 in the country, “will increase” because there are still “many missing,” warned the Minister of Territorial Policy Ángel Víctor Torres on Wednesday night.

The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, who has declared three days of national mourning, will travel to Valencia at 10:30 a.m., where he will visit the Rescue Coordination Center (Cecopi).

STRAIGHT. Floods in Spain: at least 95 dead, three days of national mourning declared © Jose Jordan / AFP

In a brief televised speech on Wednesday, the socialist leader assured that the Government will not leave the victims “alone”, while asking the inhabitants of the region to remain vigilant.

The rescue services “will now enter the second phase”, consisting of finding the missing, the Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, stressed on Wednesday afternoon, specifying that their number remains “unknown.”

According to the meteorological agency Aemet, during the night from Tuesday to Wednesday more than 300 liters of water per square meter fell in several locations in the Valencian Community, with a peak of 491 liters in the small town of Chiva. This is the equivalent of “a year of rainfall,” he said.

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People climb into cars piled up after flooding in Sedavi, south of Valencia, eastern Spain, on October 30, 2024.

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Author: Juliette Brossault with AFP
Source: BFM TV

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