More than 200 people have died and communities remain cut off after heavy flooding across Spain.
A further 500 soldiers are being deployed to the Valencia region amid criticism of local authorities over their response to the catastrophic flooding that has hit Spain in recent days.
Thousands of people have travelled from Valencia city to nearby rural areas to bring supplies and help with clean-up efforts, but on Friday authorities announced that traffic in the region would be restricted over the weekend to ensure access for emergency workers. Part of the focus is on pumping water out of underground tunnels and car parks, where it is feared people will have been trapped as water surged in.
The civil protection agency, overseen by the regional government, issued an emergency alert to the phones of people in and around the city of Valencia after 20:00 local time on Tuesday, by which time the flood water was swiftly rising in many areas and in some cases already wreaking havoc.“It's outrageous that our local government didn't do anything about it, knowing that this was coming," he said.
The federal government in Madrid is also facing criticism for not mobilising the army sooner than it did and for declining an offer from the French government to send 200 firefighters to help with search and rescue efforts. On Friday, the local authorities said traffic would be limited in the Valencia metropolitan area between 00:00 local time on Saturday and 23:59 on Sunday.
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