Floods leave 205 dead

THREE days after flash floods swept through several towns in Spain and killed at least 205 people, the initial shock was giving way to anger, frustration and a wave of solidarity yesterday.

Spanish emergency authorities raised the death toll to at least 205 victims, 202 of them in Valencia alone. Many streets are still blocked by piled-up vehicles and debris, in some cases trapping residents in their homes.

Some places still do not have electricity, running water or stable telephone connections.

Residents turned to the media to appeal for help.

"This is a disaster. There are a lot of elderly people who don't have medicine. There are children who don't have food. We don't have milk, we don't have water. We have no access to anything," a resident of Alfafar, one of the most affected towns in south Valencia, told state television station TVE.