The floods have battered Valencia's infrastructure, sweeping away bridges, roads and rail tracks and submerging farmland in a region that produces about two-thirds of the citrus fruit grown in Spain, a leading global exporter of oranges.
Shocking footage has emerged from Spain showing parts of Valencia becoming completely engulfed by the deadly flash flooding that appeared from nowhere and has left at least 217 dead.
The Spanish government has now vowed to 'improve' recovery efforts with the deployment of 10,000 soldiers and police officers. Terrifying footage from Valencia has shown how thick muddy water quickly swept through the city in just minutes as it submerged an entire field British couple Terry and Don Turner, aged 74 and 78, who had not been seen since torrential rains hit the Valencia region on Tuesday, were confirmed to be among the dead today.
According to scientists, the storms had concentrated over the Margo and Turia river basins, and in the Poyo riverbed, produced large walls of water that overflowed riverbanks - catching locals off guard as they went about their day on Tuesday evening. Survivors who have lost everything in the disaster have expressed their anger at authorities, who they say failed to warn them in time and were slow in their response.
Spain's AEMET weather centre in Valencia warned of heavy rainfall at 7:30am on Tuesday, raising the alert level to red in some areas and warning residents to stay off the roads in case of flooding. AEMET warned residents to remain vigilant, even if there was little rainfall in their areas, as ravines and gullies were quickly filling with water pouring down from the mountains towards the sea.
'As a result of rising temperatures, the hydrological cycle has accelerated. It has also become more erratic and unpredictable, and we are facing growing problems of either too much or too little water. A warmer atmosphere holds more moisture which is conducive to heavy rainfall,' World Meteorological Organisation Secretary-General Celeste Saulo said.
A man clears the debris and mud on his property following last week's floods in the municipality of Sedavi Read More Shocking moments from Spain's flood disaster as lorry overturns and a woman is airlifted from water When cold air blows over warm Mediterranean waters it causes hotter air to rise quickly and form towering, dense, water-laden clouds that can remain over the same area for many hours, raising their destructive potential.Eastern and Southern Spain are particularly susceptible to the phenomenon due to its position between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.
Rescuers have discovered hundreds of cars left abandoned in the flooded car park of Bonaire shopping centre Firefighters walk past debris as they search for victims at a parking area on November 4
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