By: Manuel Ostos
A devastating storm that has swept across eastern Spain since last weekend has led to the tragic loss of 51 lives, with dozens more people reported missing. According to initial assessments from the regional government of Valencia, the torrential rains reached an unprecedented 520 liters per square meter in some areas. Normally dry river basins and ravines overflowed, with water levels reaching unknown heights.
Among the casualties were two civil guards who lost their lives while attempting to rescue citizens amid the storm’s fury. Virtually every town in the province of Valencia experienced severe damage, while the neighboring province of Castellón sustained less impact. Major roads remain impassable, and railway services have been suspended as the storm washed away sections of the tracks.
Residents throughout the affected areas have turned to social media for help, struggling to contact emergency services at the overwhelmed 112 hotline. Many drivers are stranded, while others remain trapped on the upper floors of their homes. Thousands of displaced residents were unable to return home last night, and cars lie abandoned on flooded streets as villages and highways remain submerged. The storm’s impact has spread beyond Valencia, reaching areas such as Mira in Cuenca, where an 88-year-old woman died after a river overflowed. In Letur, Albacete, search teams are working to locate six missing individuals. The government has mobilized a crisis cabinet, leading to a suspension of parliamentary activities.
Late Tuesday, Valencian President Carlos Mazón confirmed the recovery of multiple bodies, though he refrained from releasing official numbers until relatives could be notified. By early Wednesday, 13 deaths were reported, with the toll escalating to 51 as the morning progressed. Authorities stress that the count is provisional, with numerous individuals still unaccounted for. The deceased include a family in Torrent, several individuals in Paiporta, and single fatalities in Chiva, Cheste, Alfafar, and Alcudia.
As daylight brings receding waters in the most impacted regions—Utiel-Requena, Hoya de Buñol, l’Horta de Valencia, and La Ribera—rescue efforts have resumed in areas previously inaccessible.
This storm ranks as the most severe recorded in the 21st century for the Valencian Community, surpassing even the significant storm of September 2019. According to the State Meteorological Agency (AEMET), it compares to the great storms of the 1980s: the infamous October 1982 and November 1987 storms, both notorious for torrential rains that devastated southern Valencia. Although an intense rain episode in October 2000 brought the highest recorded rainfall, its prolonged duration spread its impact over several days, making it less catastrophic than the storms of 1982, 1987, and now 2024. This week’s storm has thus been marked as a historic weather event on par with the most intense Mediterranean storms in history.
The alert for the storm went out early Wednesday, but public frustration has mounted over the perceived lack of preparation and timely warnings. Criticism is growing on social media as citizens express their concern about the delayed escalation of warnings. AEMET raised the threat level from orange to red at 8:00 a.m. along the southern Valencian coast, where 90 liters of rain fell within an hour. This alert came in response to ongoing conditions rather than advanced forecasting. By 10:00 a.m., the red alert expanded to much of the province amid widespread flooding, with warnings in place until 6:00 p.m. and until midnight along the coast.
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