Spain recorded its wettest October since records began in 1961, resulting in the country’s deadliest floods in decades, national weather agency AEMET said on Friday. TASR informs about it according to the agencies AFP and Reuters.
In October of this year, an average of 147 liters of precipitation per square meter (147 mm) fell in the country. At the same time, it was almost double the average amount of precipitation during a normal October, specified AEMET. In Turis, near Valencia, the national record for the amount of rainfall per hour was broken, when up to 184.6 millimeters fell there.
Torrential rains, which caused extensive flooding last week on Tuesday, especially in the Valencia region, claimed the lives of more than 220 people. Floods destroyed houses, roads and cars. Seventy-eight people remain missing, although the government believes some of them could be among the 48 unidentified bodies.
Scientists say that extreme weather fluctuations are becoming more frequent as a result of climate change. Meteorologists believe that the warming of the Mediterranean Sea, which increases water evaporation, is playing a key role in making the torrential rains even more intense.
78 people are still missing in Valencia
Ten days after devastating floods in Spain, 78 people are still missing in the worst-hit region of Valencia, the regional government said on Platform X on Friday. TASR informs about it based on the report of the DPA agency.
The search for the missing in Valencia continues, and the regional authorities have announced that 40 of the people who have already been found have not yet been identified. According to their statements, they also fear that some of the bodies of the victims could have been washed away by the water as far as the Mediterranean Sea.
The floods in Spain have so far claimed at least 219 lives, of which 211 people died in the Valencia region and the remaining eight in the Andalusia and Castilla-La Mancha regions. Adverse weather has plagued other parts of the country since then.
Damage also in Mallorca
Heavy rains also caused flooding in Catalonia from Friday night, with the island of Majorca being one of the most affected areas. In the fishing village of Cadaqués on the Costa Brava coast, floodwater swept about 30 vehicles into the river, according to a local official.
On Tuesday of last week, some cities in the Valencia region received as much rain as they usually get in a whole year in a few hours.
In Spain, work to remove the consequences continues, but some of the 75 affected cities and towns are still covered in mud. Several buildings are also still inaccessible, or their accessibility is limited, as various objects, including wrecked cars, block the entrances.
