51 killed in Spain flash floods

At least 51 people were killed in flash floods that swept through Spain’s eastern region of Valencia after torrential rain, Al Jazeera reported quoting local authorities.

Heavy storms on Tuesday triggered floods across parts of southern and eastern Spain. Footage shared on social media showed vehicles being swept away down streets by the mud-coloured water.

More than 1,000 soldiers from Spain’s emergency response units were deployed to affected areas. Spain’s central government set up a crisis committee to help coordinate rescue efforts.

Emergency services in Valencia urged citizens to avoid any kind of road travel and to follow further updates from official sources.

The “provisional number of dead is at 51 people”, emergency services in Valencia wrote on X on Wednesday, adding that bodies were still being recovered and identified.

Carlos Mazon, the regional leader of Valencia, told a news conference that some people remained isolated in inaccessible locations.