'Everyone in town knows someone who has died'

Residents in flood-stricken Paiporta just outside Valencia fear the death toll will excede 400 as the clean-up gets underway

- SALMA OUAGUIRA

More than 200 people have been killed in Spain as the army joined rescue efforts yesterday in the aftermath of the worst flash floods to hit the country in decades, leaving victims in the ravaged region begging for aid.

Dani Sorni, a 22-year-old resident of Paiporta, the epicentre of the disaster, described the grave conditions. "This town is a cemetery, with bodies trapped under a metre-and-a-half of mud and under cars," he told The Independent.

With the final death toll feared to be 400, survivors described a "tsunami" of water trapping victims in their cars, and their fury over poor planning and the slow response by authorities.

Three days have passed since torrential waters swept through the Paiporta community, leaving behind a scene of unimaginable destruction with streets buried under thick sludge and crushed vehicles piled high.

Located just six miles from Valencia's centre, this town has been transformed from a peaceful community into what feels like a war zone overnight. The floods, triggered by an intense weather system known as Dana, have shocked the community that is home to around 25,000 people.