ReutersAs Spain reels from flash floods that hit the country’s southeast this week, many are wondering why the death toll, now at more than 200, is so high.
Almost all the deaths confirmed so far have been in the Valencia region on the Mediterranean coast.
Some areas were especially devastated: the town of Paiporta, population 25,000, had at least 62 deaths.
A variety of factors, including drivers trapped in their cars, poor planning by officials, and extreme rainfall exacerbated by climate change could all be to blame.
The civil protection agency, overseen by the regional government, issued an emergency warning to people’s phones in and around the city of Valencia after 20:00 local time (19:00 GMT) on Thursday. Three, at that time the flood waters quickly receded. is increasing in many areas and in some cases has caused devastation.
A large number of those who died were on the road, in many cases returning home from work when flash floods occurred.
The video shows the first wave of floodwaters rushing through Paiporta while cars were still circulating. Although rainfall is heavier than in other areas, such as Utilel and Chiva, Paiporta’s geographical location, with a ravine running through the centre, makes the effects of flooding particularly severe.
Mayor Maribel Albalat said that the town is not well prepared in terms of planning, with many apartments on the ground floor. Six residents of a nursing home died when floodwaters entered the building while they were still on the ground floor. She also believes there is an element of complacency.
“In Paiporta, we don’t tend to have floods and people are not afraid,” she said.
The garage is a special death trap.
Ms. Albalat said: “When it rains, people often go down to the garage to take their cars out in case the garage is flooded.
That appeared to be the case in the La Torre neighborhood, on the outskirts of Valencia, where the bodies of seven people were recovered from the garage of a residential building.
The A3 motorway connecting Valencia to Madrid was one of many roads where motorists were stranded as water levels rose, leaving them uncertain whether it would be safer to stay in their cars.
One survivor told Telecinco TV channel: “There are almost certainly more deaths because the water swept away those who had just gotten out of the car.” Another survivor said the water reached his chest.
One witness described seeing a driver who had just gotten out of his car use a belt to tie himself to a light pole to avoid being swept away. It is unclear whether he survived.
Chiva Mayor Amparo Fort warned Thursday that there were still “hundreds of overturned cars nearby and there will definitely be people inside.”
Thursday morning, Guardia Civil shared advice on how to escape a car during a flood on social networks. People affected by flooding are advised to try to escape through car windows and windshields.
Other factors also seem to help explain why Valencia was so devastated by this weather phenomenon.
Much of the hardest-hit area, in and around the country’s third-largest city, is densely populated.
The lack of rainfall throughout the rest of the year has left the ground in many areas of eastern and southern Spain unable to absorb rainwater effectively.
Pablo Aznar, a researcher at the Socio-Economic Observatory of Floods and Droughts (Obsis), warns that much of the affected area has experienced what he describes as “unlimited development”. , with many areas covered in impermeable material, which “increases the hazard”. caused by these events”.
A warming climate may also contribute to the severity of flooding.
In a preliminary report, World Weather Attribution (WWA), an international group of scientists investigating the role of global warming in extreme weather, has found that rainfall hitting the West Spain is 12% heavier due to climate change and twice as many weather phenomena. likely.
