The Civil Protection Agency, overseen by the local government, issued an emergency alert to residents in and around Valencia by phone after 20:00 (GMT) on the 20th (local time), and by this time, the floodwaters had subsided quickly. It is increasing in many areas and in some cases is already causing great damage.
Questions remain about the timing of warnings and whether Spain has an adequate warning system for natural disasters.
Mireia, who lives near the affected areas in Valencia, said people were “completely unprepared.”
“A lot of people were in their cars and couldn’t get out,” she said. “They just drowned.”
Thousands of volunteers are now helping the Spanish military and emergency services with rescue and clean-up operations, and Valencia regional president Carlos Mazzon said more troops would be deployed.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez expressed his gratitude on social media, calling the volunteers “an example of solidarity and boundless dedication in Spanish society.”
He pledged that the government would take all necessary steps to help those affected by the disaster.
Residents of the devastated town of Paiporta, where more than 60 deaths have been reported so far, have expressed frustration that aid is being delivered too slowly.
“There are not enough firefighters, the shovels haven’t arrived,” Paco Clemente, a 33-year-old pharmacist, told AFP as he helped clear mud from a friend’s house.
Dozens of people were arrested on suspicion of looting, and one Aldaia resident told AFP he had seen thieves stealing items from an abandoned supermarket, saying “people are a bit desperate”.
