Spain flood death toll soars to 158

Spain mourned at least 158 deaths on Thursday and authorities told people in flood-stricken regions to stay at home as rescuers raced to find survivors in the rare disaster.

An exceptionally powerful Mediterranean storm from Tuesday unleashed heavy rains and torrents of mud-filled water that swept away people and wrecked homes, with the eastern Valencia region hit hardest.

The body coordinating rescue work in the Valencia region announced that 155 bodies had been recovered there by Thursday afternoon.

Officials in Castilla-La Mancha and Andalusia had announced a combined three deaths in their regions on Wednesday.

With many people still missing and some areas remaining inaccessible to rescuers, government ministers had warned Wednesday’s provisional toll of 95 was likely to rise.

“Please stay at home… follow the calls of the emergency services,” pleaded Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.

Emergency services backed by drones and more than 1,200 troops combed mud-caked towns and villages to find survivors and clear roads of debris.

Spain mourns after historic floods kill 95

Abandoned vehicles lay piled on top of each other like dominoes, and some residents grabbed planks of wood to plough through layers of thick, sticky mud, AFP journalists saw in the Valencia region.

In Paiporta, a suburb of Valencia city at the epicentre of the damage, 27-year-old musician David Romero lamented a “catastrophe.”.

“Neighbourhood after neighbourhood, street after street, there is not a business standing,” he told AFP.

Hundreds of people are being sheltered in temporary accommodation while road and rail transport have been severely disrupted.

It could take up to three weeks to reopen the high-speed line between Madrid and Valencia, Transport Minister Oscar Puente wrote on X.