Death toll climbs as flash floods hit Eastern Spain

SPAIN – At least 150 people have been killed in possibly the deadliest flooding to hit Spain in its modern history after torrential rain battered the eastern region of Valencia, sweeping away bridges and buildings, local authorities said.

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

Rescuers raced Thursday to find survivors and victims of once-in-a-generation floods in Spain that killed at least 150 people and left towns submerged in a muddy deluge with overturned cars scattered in the streets.

About 1,000 troops joined police and firefighters in the grim search for bodies in the Valencia region as Spain started three days of mourning. The toll will rise because “there are many missing people”, territorial policy minister Angel Victor Torres predicted.

In response, the Copernicus Emergency Rapid Mapping Service has been activated to support rescue and recovery efforts. Images from Landsat-8 satellite illustrate the scale of the disaster, with images from 8 and 30 October.