Spain flood deaths top 200, hopes fade for missing

Spain's deadliest floods in decades leave 205 dead, dozens missing as rescuers search for survivors in devastated areas.

Rescuers raised the death toll in Spain’s worst floods for a generation to 205 on Friday (November 1, 2024) and fears grew for the dozens missing as hopes of finding survivors faded.

The floods that have tossed vehicles, collapsed bridges and covered towns with mud since Tuesday (October 29, 2024) are the European country’s deadliest such disaster in decades.

The organisation coordinating emergency services in the hardest-hit eastern Valencia region said 202 people had been confirmed dead there.

Officials in neighbouring Castilla-La Mancha and Andalusia in the south had already announced a combined three deaths in their regions.

Rescuers equipped with helicopters, drones and sniffer dogs waded through water and rummaged through debris in search of dozens of people the authorities believe are still missing.

The government has deployed another 500 troops to the stricken areas to bolster the 1,200 already on site for search, rescue and logistics tasks. Another 500 will be dispatched on Saturday (November 2, 2024).

The Civil Guard alone had rescued more than 4,500 people as of Friday (November 1, 2024) afternoon, Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said.