Earth Science News
SHAKE AND BLOW
Spanish royals to visit flood-hit region as fresh downpours loom
Reuters Events SMR and Advanced Reactor 2025
Spanish royals to visit flood-hit region as fresh downpours loom
By Wafaa ESSALHI, Rosa SULLEIRO
Valencia, Spain (AFP) Nov 3, 2024

Spain's king and queen are due on Sunday to visit the Valencia region, Spanish media reported, where devastating floods have killed more than 200 people with more rain on the horizon.

Hopes of finding survivors ebbed five days after torrents of muddy water wrecked towns and infrastructure in Spain's worst such disaster in decades.

Nearly all the deaths have been in the Valencia region, where thousands of security and emergency services frantically cleared debris and mud in the search for bodies.

Describing "the worst natural disaster in the recent history of our country," Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said it was the second deadliest flood in Europe this century.

Sanchez was expected to accompany King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia as well as the Valencia region leader Carlos Mazon on a visit to the areas affected by the floods on Sunday, according to the premier's office. The exact programme of their visit has not yet been made public.

The monarchs' visit comes as Spain's meterological agency issued a fresh warning for heavy downpours in the Valencia region.

Up to 100 litres per square metre (22 gallons per square yard) of water could fall in the province of Castellon and the area surrounding the city of Valencia, the agency forecast.

It also sounded the alarm for torrential rain that may cause flooding in the southern province of Almeria, advising residents not to travel unless strictly necessary.

- 'Towns buried by mud' -

Restoring order and distributing aid to destroyed towns and villages -- some of which have been cut off from food, water and power since Tuesday's torrent -- is a priority.

With Spain deploying an extra 10,000 troops, police and civil guards to the Valencia region, the country was carrying out its largest deployment of military and security force personnel in peacetime, Sanchez said.

Officers made around 20 arrests on Saturday evening for thievery and acts of looting, police said, with the authorities pledging to crack down on those taking advantage of the disaster to commit crimes.

Authorities -- including Mazon -- have come under fire over the warning systems before the floods, and some stricken residents have complained that the response to the disaster has been too slow.

"I am aware the response is not enough, there are problems and severe shortages... towns buried by mud, desperate people searching for their relatives... we have to improve," Sanchez said.

In the ground-zero towns of Alfafar and Sedavi, AFP reporters saw no soldiers while residents shovelled mud from their homes and firefighters pumped water from garages and tunnels.

"Thank you to the people who have come to help us, to all of them, because from the authorities: nothing," a furious Estrella Caceres, 66, told AFP in Sedavi.

In Chiva, a town west of Valencia which Spanish media reported may be visited by the monarchs, Danna Daniella said she had been cleaning her restaurant for three days straight and was still in shock.

"It feels like the end of the world," the woman in her 30s said.

She said she was haunted by memories of the people trapped by the raging floodwaters "asking for help and there was nothing we could do".

"It drives you crazy. You look for answers and you don't find them."

- 'Swiss cheese' motorways -

With telephone and transport networks severely damaged, establishing a precise figure of missing people is difficult.

Sanchez said electricity had been restored to 94 percent of homes affected by power outages and that around half of the cut telephone lines had been repaired.

Transport Minister Oscar Puente told El Pais daily that certain places would probably remain inaccessible by land for weeks.

Ordinary citizens carrying food, water and cleaning equipment have continued their grassroots initiative to assist the recovery, although authorities have urged people to stay at home to avoid congestion on the roads that would hamper the work of emergency services.

On Sunday, the Valencian government limited the number of volunteers authorised to travel to the city's southern suburbs to 2,000 and restricted access to 12 localities.

The storm that sparked the floods on Tuesday formed as cold air moved over the warm waters of the Mediterranean and is common for this time of year.

But scientists warn climate change driven by human activity is increasing the ferocity, length and frequency of such extreme weather events.

Emergency services late on Saturday issued an updated toll of 213 people confirmed killed -- 210 in the Valencia region, two in neighbouring Castilla-La Mancha and one in Andalusia in the south.

Authorities have warned the toll could yet rise, as vehicles trapped in tunnels and underground car parks are cleared.

Related Links
Bringing Order To A World Of Disasters
When the Earth Quakes
A world of storm and tempest

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters
Tweet

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
SHAKE AND BLOW
Japan urges 200,000 people to evacuate due to heavy rain
Tokyo (AFP) Nov 2, 2024
Nearly 200,000 people in western Japan were urged to evacuate on Saturday as authorities warned of landslides and floods, while the remnants of a tropical storm trickle over the country. The Japan Meteorological Agency said "warm, moist air... was causing heavy rainfall with thunderstorms in western Japan" partly due to Kong-rey, which was downgraded to an extratropical low-pressure system from a typhoon. The city of Matsuyama "issued the top-level warning, urging 189,552 residents in its 10 dis ... read more

SHAKE AND BLOW
Over 20 hospitalised after fire in southwest China

Spain sends thousands more troops to flood zone

Crowds hurl mud at Spanish king on visit to flood disaster town

Senegal navy intercepts nearly 600 migrants in 10 days

SHAKE AND BLOW
Laser measurements aid in tracking space debris and mapping Earth's water resources

To tackle plastic scourge, Philippines makes companies pay

New doubt over production cuts in plastic pollution treaty

Amazon results beat expectations, powered by cloud

SHAKE AND BLOW
Experts Warn of Potential Ocean Epidemic Risk from Migrating Species

No 'island of garbage' here, Puerto Rico's new marine reserve

Thousands take to London streets demanding cleaner water

FAU receives DOE grant to explore offshore ocean current energy near Palm Beach

SHAKE AND BLOW
Austria's Alpine refuges and trails crumble as climate warms

Large volumes of meltwater found within Greenland Ice Sheet during summer

NASA helps find thawing permafrost adds to near-term global warming

Slowing ocean currents may slightly ease Arctic warming

SHAKE AND BLOW
Making agriculture more resilient to climate change

Surf and Turf: Oregon State researchers to study feeding seaweed to cattle

Czech Republic curbs animal movement over bluetongue spread

Lebanon's wine region wrestles with war

SHAKE AND BLOW
Taiwan cleans up after Typhoon Kong-rey leaves two dead

Spanish royals to visit flood-hit region as fresh downpours loom

Japan urges 200,000 people to evacuate due to heavy rain

Indonesia volcano eruption kills 10, sets houses aflame

SHAKE AND BLOW
UK FM Lammy vows 'new approach' ahead of Africa trip

Chad denies anti-jihadist operation hit civilians

Guinea junta chief promotes self to army general

New pro-army militia announces deployment in east Sudan

SHAKE AND BLOW
Gentrification Fuels Alienation Among East Asian Urban Residents, Study Finds

Colombia's Awa people resist violence, maintain 'spiritual bond' with nature

A SMART method to enhance effectiveness of cartilage repair therapy

Artificial intelligence forms external cognitive system, reshaping human thought processes

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.