‘Tragedy of absolutely incredible dimensions’: Death toll continues to rise after flash flooding in Spain

The gota fría (cold drop, or DANA), affecting several parts of Spain remained active on November 1 and was bringing further torrential rain to the Valencia region, which has been hardest-hit by the weather front, and western Andalusia, in the south of the country. Early Friday, several areas in the provinces of Valencia and Castellón, as well as the south of Tarragona in Catalonia, were under orange warnings issued by the Spanish Meteorological Agency (Aemet), where more rainfall is anticipated.

A heavy downpour has already flooded part of Huelva, the regional capital, and areas of other nearby municipalities. The regional premier of Andalusia, Juanma Moreno, has asked the population to avoid leaving their homes unless absolutely necessary. In addition, there is an orange alert in the Balearic Islands and yellow warnings in Extremadura and other areas of the Valencia region and Catalonia. On Friday morning, 500 military personnel joined the search for the missing, along with 1,200 soldiers of the Emergency Military Unit.

Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles has promised that “as many as necessary” will be deployed to respond to the natural disaster and “no means will be spared” to alleviate what she described as “a horrible tragedy.” “There is still a lot to be done,” she added Friday morning. Over 150 roads, most of them on the secondary highway network, are still affected by the effects of the DANA. Many have become impassable due to rain, road traffic accidents and sediment carried by flood waters. In Valencia, the death toll rose to more than 200 people Friday, in addition to three other deaths in Castilla-La Mancha and Andalusia.

The Defense Minister expressed her sorrow for the victims of the tragedy and to all those affected, while praising the work of the Spanish army. “[They] also have relatives there and some have lost loved ones,” she said. The minister confirmed that there are already 1,700 troops deployed and by Saturday the number will be increased “taking into account the requirements.”

The regional government of Valencia has announced an aid plan of an initial €250 million ($270 million), including €6,000 ($6,510) of direct aid to each victim, as well as transport subsidies or support for housing rehabilitation.

In the Maestrazgo region of Castellón, heavy downpours of up to 300 millimeters fell in a few hours in some areas. Thousands of people remain without electricity and the material damage is incalculable. There are still many roads cut off in Valencia, where thousands of cars are still stranded after being swept away by flooding, and the high-speed train service between Madrid and Valencia and the Mediterranean corridor to Barcelona has been suspended, potentially for weeks, as well as most of the commuter trains in the city. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and the leader of the opposition Popular Party, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, visited the affected area Thursday. Three days of national mourning have been declared.

Regarding the number of victims and missing, Robles remained cautious, but said that there may be many people, alive or dead, in the first floors of apartments, garages, and cars piled up in the streets of the most affected localities. “This is an unprecedented DANA [...] The tragedy is of absolutely incredible dimensions,” Robles said, to the point that at the beginning of the storm, despite having helicopters standing by, they were unable to take off because of the strong winds and rain. Drones were deployed instead and are still being used as part of the search and rescue efforts. Furthermore, the state of the infrastructure in the affected areas is making access difficult for the military, but Robles assured that they will be deployed where they are needed.

Aemet spokesman Rubén del Campo warned authorities and the population should be “very careful” about lowering their guard as the torrential rains and floods will continue throughout the weekend and “can still provide some scares.” By 6.55 a.m. Friday, Aemet had decreed a red warning in Huelva, based as has been the case many times during the weather event on already observed phenomena and not predicted in advance.

The regional premier of Valencia, Carlos Mazón, concurred that rescue efforts have been hindered by the sheer impossibility of reaching those in need. On Thursday, Mazón stated that there are no longer “rescuable people visible from the sky” — those who took shelter on rooftops or on the roofs of vehicles.

New generation of cold drops

“We are going to send a very clear message: the meteorological emergency has not ended. The DANA is still over Spain. Very intense storms are occurring, yesterday in Andalusia, today in Castellón. We are going to continue like this for most of the week,” Aemet stated in a message on X.

The intensity of the DANA (the Spanish acronym for Isolated Depression at High Levels) has already forced Aemet to issue five red warning in four days: Tuesday in Valencia and Málaga, Wednesday in Cádiz, and Thursday in Castellón. The power of the storm front, along with its persistence — the warnings will remain in place until at least Sunday — has taken meteorologists by surprise. Experts say this weather event is an anomalous DANA, or a new generation of cold drops entirely. The current DANA in Valencia is the worst of the 21st century, comparable to those experienced in 1987 and 1982, specifically the Pantanada de Tous, according to the initial assessment provided by Aemet.

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