Torrential rain turned parts of southern and eastern Spain into a fast-moving flood emergency, with emergency workers recovering bodies, roads closing, high-speed trains suspended and airport traffic diverted as authorities tried to track the missing.
In Letur, in the eastern province of Albacete, muddy floodwater pushed cars through the streets in scenes broadcast on Spanish television. The Guardian reported that emergency workers had recovered dead bodies after the flash floods, while regional leader Carlos Mazon said early on Wednesday that several bodies had been found in flood-hit areas in the Valencia region. He did not give a number, and the scale of the toll remained fluid as rescue work continued.
The search for missing people was still under way. The central government’s representative in Castilla-La Mancha said emergency services backed by drones were looking for six people missing after the floods in Letur. Police in L’Alcúdia in Valencia said they were also searching for a truck driver who had not been seen since early afternoon. The separate searches underline how widely the storm spread its impact across towns and provinces rather than remaining a single local incident.
Transport was hit almost immediately. Twelve flights due to land at Valencia airport were diverted to other Spanish cities, and another 10 flights due to arrive or depart were cancelled. ADIF, the rail infrastructure operator, suspended high-speed trains between Madrid and Valencia after the storm affected key parts of the network in the Valencia region. Several roads were shut in both Valencia and Andalusia, cutting off ordinary travel just as rescue teams were trying to reach people trapped by water.
In Andalusia, a high-speed train carrying 276 passengers derailed after the storm damaged the rail network, although no one was injured. Emergency services also rescued scores of people in Álora, some by helicopter, after a river overflowed. Those rescues showed how quickly floodwater can move from a transport nuisance to a life-threatening emergency in a matter of hours.
Authorities responded with high-level alerts. Spain’s weather agency AEMET declared a red alert in the Valencia region and the second-highest level of alert in parts of Andalusia. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez urged people to follow the advice of the authorities and avoid unnecessary trips. The weather pattern behind the storm, known as a gota fría or cold drop, can dump intense rain over eastern Spain when cold air moves over warm Mediterranean waters.
The Guardian noted that scientists warn such extreme weather is becoming more intense as the climate crisis deepens. In this case, the warning was visible not in abstract forecasts but in flooded streets, disrupted rail corridors and rescue workers trying to reach the missing before night and rising water made the task even harder.
