Spanish firefighters work through the night to remove mud left by flooding in outskirts of Valencia

(6 Nov 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Paiporta, Spain – 5 November 2024
1. Firefighters at end of their shift
2. Various of firefighters cutting railing
3. Fire engine driving through town centre ++NIGHT SHOT++
4. Bulldozers driving through muddy streets ++NIGHT SHOT++
5. Close of bulldozer in muddy street ++NIGHT SHOT++
6. Various of refrigerator being removed from street++NIGHT SHOTS++
7. Various of residents and volunteers walking on muddy streets ++NIGHT SHOTS++
8. Various of food and water being distributed to locals ++NIGHT SHOTS++
9. Mid of boxes in distribution warehouse ++NIGHT SHOTS++
10. Various of volunteers leaving by bus ++NIGHT SHOTS++
STORYLINE:
Clean up and rescue works have been continuing in eastern Spain more than a week after flash floods caused by heavy downpours swept away everything in their path.

With no time to react, people were trapped for hours in vehicles, homes and businesses.

More than a week after the October 29 deluge, authorities have recovered 217 bodies and continue to search for an unknown number of missing people.

The damage recalled the aftermath of a tsunami, with survivors left to pick up the pieces as they mourned their loved ones.

Thousands of volunteers, soldiers and police reinforcements were clearing away the thick mud and debris covering houses, streets and roads, all while facing shortages of some basic goods including drinking water.

The storms concentrated over the Magro and Turia river basins and, in the Poyo canal, produced walls of water that overflowed riverbanks, catching people unaware as they went on with their daily lives on Tuesday evening and early Wednesday.

In the blink of an eye, the muddy water covered roads and railways, and entered houses and businesses in towns and villages on the southern outskirts of Valencia.

Drivers had to take shelter on car roofs, while residents took refuge on higher ground.

Spain’s national weather service said that in the hard-hit locality of Chiva, it rained more in eight hours than it had in the preceding 20 months, calling the deluge “extraordinary.”

Other areas on the southern outskirts of Valencia city didn’t get rain before they were wiped out by the wall of water that overflowed the drainage canals.

When authorities sent alerts to mobile phones warning of the seriousness of the flooding and asking people to stay at home, many were already on the road, working or covered in water in low-lying areas or underground garages, which became death traps.

Some 15,000 soldiers, National Police officers, and Civil Guard gendarmeries have deployed to the area in the largest peacetime mobilization of military and security forces inside Spain.

Military trucks, heavy road equipment, Chinook helicopters, and a navy transport vessel are aiding with the distribution of relief aid, the cleaning, and the search for bodies.

The national government said that as of Tuesday authorities had rescued over 36,000 people, restored electricity in 147,000 homes, and distributed some 130,000 bottles of water and 21,000 food rations.

AP video shot by: Paolo Santalucia

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