Search for survivors on after Spain's deadliest flood in living memory

BARRIO DE LA TORRE, Spain: After monstrous flash floods in Spain claimed at least 214 lives, with 155 deaths confirmed in the eastern Valencia region alone, crews searched for bodies in stranded cars and sodden buildings this week as residents salvaged what they could from their ruined homes.

More horrors emerged from the debris and ubiquitous layers of mud left by the walls of water that produced Spain's deadliest natural disaster in living memory. The damage from the storm recalled the aftermath of a tsunami, with survivors left to pick up the pieces as they mourned their loved ones.

Cars were piled on one another like fallen dominoes, uprooted trees, downed power lines, and household items, all mired in mud that covered the streets in dozens of communities in Valencia, a region south of Barcelona on the Mediterranean coast.

An unknown number of people are still missing, and more victims could be found.

"Unfortunately, there are dead people inside some vehicles," Spain's Transport Minister Oscar Puente said earlier in the week.

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez confirmed on Saturday the death toll at 214 so far.

Rushing waters transformed narrow streets into death traps, creating rivers that tore through homes and businesses, sweeping away cars, people, and everything else in their path. The floods obliterated bridges and left roads in ruins.

LuIs SAnchez, a welder, recounted rescuing several people stranded in their cars on the flooded V-31 highway south of Valencia. The road quickly became a floating graveyard littered with hundreds of vehicles. Regional authorities reported that rescuers, some in helicopters, saved around 70 people trapped on rooftops and in cars while ground crews continued their efforts.

An Associated Press journalist witnessed rescuers removing seven body bags from an underground garage in Valencia's Barrio de la Torre.

While autumn storms that can cause flooding are common along Spain's Mediterranean coast, this flash flood was the most severe in recent memory. Scientists connect it to climate change, which is also contributing to Spain's rising temperatures, droughts, and the warming Mediterranean Sea. Spain has endured an almost two-year drought, hardening the ground so much that it couldn't absorb the deluge, resulting in catastrophic flash floods.

The intensity of the storm caught regional officials by surprise. Spain's national weather service reported that in Chiva, near Valencia, more rain fell in eight hours than over the previous twenty months combined.

In Catarroja, south of Valencia, a man wept as he showed a journalist from RTVE the remains of his home's ground floor. It looked as if a bomb had gone off, destroying furniture and possessions and stripping paint from some walls. In Paiporta, Mayor Maribel Albalat reported that at least 62 people had died in the community of 25,000 next to Valencia.

Although Valencia's surrounding municipalities suffered the most, the storms ravaged large areas along Spain's southern and eastern coasts. The neighboring Castilla La Mancha region confirmed two fatalities, and another was reported in Andalusia.

The heavy rains and flooding destroyed greenhouses and farms in southern Spain, a region known for exporting produce across Europe. The storms spawned a freak tornado in Valencia and a hailstorm that left cars riddled with holes in Andalusia. Homes as far southwest as Malaga in Andalusia were left without water.

As the initial shock subsided, frustration grew over authorities' delayed flood warnings and the chaotic relief efforts. Many survivors were forced to walk long distances through sticky mud to find food and water, as most of their cars were destroyed, and storm debris left some roads impassable. People pushed shopping carts along soggy streets and carried children to keep them out of the muck.

With many stores damaged and resources scarce, some survivors reported stealing supplies, especially those without access to running water or open stores.

"We are not thieves. I work as a cleaner at the school for the council. But we have to eat. Look at what I'm picking up: baby food for the baby," said Nieves Vargas in a local supermarket whose doors had been tossed aside by the water and was unattended by staff. "What can I give to the child, if we don't have electricity."