Spanish rescue teams hunt for missing after deadly floods

Spain issues storm warning after deadly floods in Valencia, with rescuers searching for missing people in devastated region.

Spain issued another storm warning on Thursday (October 31, 2024) for part of the Valencia region devastated by floods that have killed at least 95 people, as rescuers scoured flooded fields and stranded cars for those still missing.

Local authorities have not disclosed how many people are still unaccounted for after Europe's deadliest floods in years, but Defence Minister Margarita Robles said late on Wednesday the death toll was likely to rise.

Rescue workers combed the wreckage of vehicles that were caked in mud next to roads or in flooded fields, with some using heavy machinery to clear debris from the streets, television footage showed.

Calm weather returned on Thursday to the hardest-hit areas around the city of Valencia, Spain's third-largest, but the AEMET state weather agency issued its highest level of alert for the province of Castellon. Further north in the Catalonia region, an amber alert was issued for the city of Tarragona.

Meteorologists said a year's worth of rain had fallen in eight hours in parts of Valencia on Tuesday, causing pile-ups on highways and submerging farmland in a region that produces about two-thirds of the citrus fruit grown in Spain, a leading global exporter of oranges.

The storm that caused the torrential downpours has since moved in a northeasterly direction.

"There are already very strong storms in the area, especially in the north of Castellon," AEMET posted on its X account. "The adverse weather continues! Beware!" it added, saying people should not travel to the area.