Dozens killed as Spanish region hit by year's worth of rain in eight hours

[muriel_volestrangler]

Source: BBC

At least 51 people are known to have died after torrential rain caused devastating flash floods in south-eastern Spain.

In the town of Chiva near Valencia more than a year's worth of rain fell in just eight hours and local officials say it is "impossible" to put a final figure on the number of people who have perished.

Footage uploaded to social media shows floodwaters causing chaos in the wider region, knocking down bridges and dragging cars through the streets. Other video appears to show people clinging to trees to avoid being swept away.

Much of the country has been badly hit by heavy rain and hailstorms, triggering rapid flooding across multiple areas.

Read more: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c93qlpp5gxvo

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“Yesterday was the worst day of my life,” Ricardo Gabaldón, the mayor of Utiel, a town in Valencia, told the national broadcaster RTVE. He said several people were still missing in his town.

“We were trapped like rats. Cars and rubbish containers were flowing down the streets. The water was rising to 3 metres,” he said.
...
The intense rain has been attributed to a phenomenon known as the gota fría, or “cold drop”, which occurs when cold air moves over the warm waters of the Mediterranean Sea. This creates atmospheric instability, causing warm, saturated air to rise rapidly, leading to the formation of towering cumulonimbus clouds in a matter of hours and dumping heavy rain across eastern parts of Spain.

Scientists say extreme weather such as heatwaves and storms is becoming more intense as a result of the climate crisis.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/oct/30/spain-floods-torrential-rain-deaths

[muriel_volestrangler]

1. Death toll rises to 62 - local government reports

The death toll has risen from 62 people, after it was earlier reported at least 51 people had been killed, according to the Interior Ministry's Integrated Operational Coordination Centre (Cecopi).

The update calls this number "provisional" and says the process of identifying victims continues.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/ckmgmdxg254t?post=asset%3A4b1b056e-b481-47b6-8327-91aa4c6d751e#post

[Deep State Witch]

2. It Looks Like WNC

It looks a lot like what happened in Western North Carolina.

[muriel_volestrangler]

3. Yeah - I don't know when or how well this was forecast

WNC was a result of a hurricane they saw coming and so had a few days to get ready or evacuate. I don't know whether people had much of a warning about this - I spoke to friends who live a little further south on Saturday, and while they said they'd had heavy rain then, they didn't say anything about a deluge in the near future.

[Danascot]

6. From the BBC article

Chiva was among the first to experience the fury of the flash floods. Local media reported that by 18:00 (17:00 GMT) on Tuesday the town's streets had turned into rivers, with cars, street lamps and benches being swept along with the force of the water.

The civil protection did not send a warning to residents of the Valencia region until over two hours later.

Many are now questioning the timing of that warning, saying that it arrived too late for people to get off the roads or seek refuge on the higher floors of their homes.

[Solly Mack]

4. :(

[Bayard]

5. Holy crap!

Mother Earth fights back with a vengeance.

[muriel_volestrangler]

7. Spain battles deadliest flood disaster in decades as death toll rises to 95

At least 92 deaths were recorded in Valencia, with another two in Castilla-La Mancha to Valencia's west and one in Málaga - a 71-year-old British man who died in hospital after being rescued from his home.
...
Another witness recounted a scene when motorway drivers realised a torrent of water was heading towards them and formed a human chain to escape along a raised central reservation.

“Thank goodness no one slipped because if anyone had fallen, the current would have dragged them away,” Patricia Rodriguez, 45, told El País newspaper.
...
Meanwhile, the mayor of Horno de Alcedo, a town just outside Valencia, told BBC Newshour how the water levels rose by more than a metre in just a matter of minutes.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c99ry7x925eo

[Skittles]

8. the first responders in these disasters are amazing

they risk their lives