The death toll in Spain rises to 211 after devastating flooding

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The death toll from the catastrophic flooding in southern and eastern Spain rose to 211 as an unknown number of people remained missing and the government sent 10,000 more soldiers and police to the rescue operation.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said on Saturday that the floods were almost certainly Europe’s worst this century as he announced the new toll, acknowledging “serious bottlenecks” in the disaster area and “communities buried in mud.”

Authorities continued to recover bodies from towns near the city of Valencia. Their efforts focused on accessing vehicles that were stacked in underground garages and tunnels and were submerged by floodwaters within minutes.

Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said late Friday: “It is impossible to know the number of missing people and it would be unwise for me to give a number.” Rescue workers have been unable to reach some cut-off areas of the Valencia region.

The flooding caused by torrential rain on Tuesday is the worst natural disaster in Spain’s modern history. The death toll exceeds the toll from floods that killed more than 200 people in Germany and Belgium in 2021.

Shocked Spaniards have digested stories of parents and children swept away by muddy torrents and elderly residents in flooded nursing homes crying out for help that never came.

In the worst-hit areas, where supplies of food and clean water are running low, some people have resorted to looting. On Friday, police said they had arrested 27 people for theft from stores and offices in the Valencia area.

Sánchez said the national government would send 5,000 more military personnel to the disaster area to supplement the 3,000 already there. In addition, the number of police officers deployed there would double to 10,000, he said.

Regarding the rescue effort, Sánchez said: “I know that we have to do better, but I also know that we have to do it together and united.” Since the regional government of Valencia is in charge of the operation, Sánchez said he is ready to respond to their inquiries.

After thousands of volunteers traveled to affected areas on Friday to help with the cleanup, the Valencia government tried to bring order to the effort on Saturday, first directing people to an arts and science center away from the flood zone , which has turned into a nerve center.

The disaster has left regional and central governments wondering why aid did not come sooner and why warnings about the heavy rains came late and lacked urgency.

The deaths have also highlighted the extent of unauthorized construction over the years in flood-prone areas where buildings should be strictly controlled.