Spain floods latest: Death toll at 211 and 5,000 extra soldiers deployed as more rain expected in other regions

Alba Paredes Borja is from the Spanish town of Alfafar, one of the areas hardest hit by the deadly storm, where local authorities are calling for urgent help in receiving food, water and medical supplies.

“I’m terrified. Everything looks apocalyptic,” she told The Independent. The floods – known as the “cold drop” or DANA phenomena – have claimed 158 lives, including at least three people in the municipality, leaving the city in ruins and cut off from all communication.

CA Osasuna footballer Ante Budimir has paid tribute to those affected in Spain’s most devastating floods in modern history.

He did so during a La Liga match between CA Osasuna and Real Valladolid CF at Estadio El Sadar in Pamplona on Saturday.

The t-shirt translates roughly as “Strong Valencia”.

Satellite imagery from NASA Earth has shown the extent of flooding in the province of Valencia, eastern Spain.

In a post on X, the space agency wrote: “Torrential rains caused deadly flooding and extensive damage in the province of Valencia, located in eastern Spain. These #Landsat images show the extent of flooding as of October 30, 2024.”

Spanish prime minister Pedro Sanchez said he is unleashing the “biggest operation by the Armed Forces in Spain in peacetime”.

He announced that the government would send 5,000 more army troops and 5,000 more police officers to assist with the search and clean-up operations in a televised statement on Saturday morning.

This is in addition to the 2,500 soldiers already deployed in the area.

“The government is going to mobilize all the resources necessary as long as they are needed,” Mr Sanchez added.

The huge response comes after Europe’s worst flood-related disaster since 1967, when at least 500 people died in Portugal.

The death toll following the devastating floods in Spain has risen to 211.

Dozens are still accounted for, four days after the torrential rains swept across the eastern Valencia region, prime minister Pedro Sanchez said.

Emergency services have shared footage of the woman and one-year-old baby being rescued after their home was flooded by water on Thursday (31 October).

It captures the moment a military emergency unit rescues the woman using a metal cage attached to a helicopter.

The official number of people killed by the catastrophic floods has risen dramatically to 158.

Spain’s prime minister has urged residents to stay at home as he warned devastation is “not finished” and declared Valencia a “disaster zone”.

King Charles has offered his “sincere and heartfelt condolences” to the people of Spain following the devastating floods which have so far killed more than 200 people.

Addressed to King Felipe VI of Spain, the King wrote: “My wife and I were utterly heartbroken to learn of the destruction and devastation following the catastrophic flooding in Southern and Eastern Spain.

“So many in the United Kingdom have strong, personal ties to Spain, and our nations are bound by so much that we have in common.

“We extend our most sincere and heartfelt condolences to you and to the people of Spain for the tragic loss of so many lives. Our special thoughts, prayers and deepest possible sympathy are with all those who have lost loved ones and livelihoods this terrible week.”