Spain flash floods leave at least 202 dead in Valencia

The death toll from the flash floods that ravaged eastern Spain this week rose to at least 202 people in the Valencia region alone on Nov 1, the regional authorities said.

At least three more people have died in other regions.

A year's worth of rain fell in eight hours in parts of the Valencia region on Oct 29.

The tragedy is already Spain's worst flood-related disaster in modern history, and the death toll is now the highest for a single country in Europe since Romania's floods killed 209 people in 1970.

Meteorologists say human-driven climate change is making such extreme weather events more frequent and destructive.

In 2021, at least 185 people died in heavy flooding in Germany. Prior to Romania in 1970, floods in Portugal in 1967 killed nearly 500.

Rescue teams on Oct 31 discovered the bodies of eight people, including a local policeman, who had been trapped in a garage on the outskirts of the city of Valencia, Mayor Maria Jose Catala told reporters.

In the same neighbourhood of La Torre, she said, a 45-year-old woman was also found dead in her home.

Thousands of people carrying bags or pushing shopping trolleys could be seen on Oct 31 crossing a pedestrian bridge over the Turia River from La Torre into the Valencia city centre to stock up on essential supplies such as toilet paper and water.