Spain’s Meteorological Agency said 491 mm of rain fell in Chiba, Valencia region, in eight hours on Tuesday. This is equivalent to a year’s worth of rain.
Radio and TV stations were reportedly receiving hundreds of calls for help from people trapped in flooded areas or looking for loved ones, as emergency services struggled to reach some areas.
Local official Milagros Tolon told Spanish public television station TVE that emergency workers were using drones to search for missing people in the hard-hit municipality of Letur.
“The priority is to find these people,” she said.
Local media reported that dozens of people in Valencia spent the night stranded on trucks and cars, as well as rooftops and bridges, waiting for rescue.
Spain’s meteorological agency AEMET declared a red alert for the Valencia region and a second-highest alert for parts of Andalusia.
It said the worst rainfall in the Valencia region was caused by a meteorological phenomenon called Depresión Aislada en Niveles Altos (DANA).
This is where cold air collects higher in the atmosphere. As warm, moist air moves beneath it, the air becomes incredibly unstable, causing storm clouds to deepen and storms to become more severe.
Several flights were halted due to flooding, with land in Valencia being diverted to other cities and cancellations in other cities. All train services in the Valencia region were suspended, national rail infrastructure operator ADIF said.
Valencia City Hall said on Wednesday that all schools and sporting events would be suspended and parks would be closed.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said in a post on X that he was “concerned” by reports of missing people.
He urged people to follow the advice of authorities, adding: “You should avoid unnecessary travel.”
Additional reporting by Matt Taylor.
