BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — At least 64 people died in eastern Spain as floods swept away cars, turned village streets into rivers and disrupted railway lines and highways; This was the worst natural disaster to hit the European nation in recent history.

Emergency services in the eastern region of Valencia confirmed 62 deaths on Wednesday. Two more deaths were also reported in the neighboring Castile La Mancha region.

Rain on Tuesday caused flooding across large parts of southern and eastern Spain, stretching from Malaga to Valencia. While the mud-coloured waters dragged vehicles onto the streets at high speeds, pieces of wood mixed with household items and mixed with the water. Police and rescue teams used helicopters to get people out of their homes and rubber boats to reach drivers trapped on the roofs of cars.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said that dozens of towns were flooded and warned that the danger was not over yet.

“For those searching for their loved ones, all of Spain feels your pain,” Sánchez said in a televised speech. “Our priority is to help you. We are mobilizing all necessary resources to recover from this tragedy.”

People, some with their belongings, walk through flooded streets in Valencia on Wednesday, October 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)

Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS/ALberto Saiz

Authorities reported scores of people missing late Tuesday, but the shocking announcement came the next morning that dozens had been found dead.

“Yesterday was the worst day of my life,” Ricardo Gabaldón, mayor of the Valencian town of Utiel, told national broadcaster RTVE. He said several people were still missing in his town.

“We were trapped like rats. Cars and garbage containers were flowing through the streets. The water was rising up to 3 meters (9.8 feet),” he said.

More than 1,000 soldiers from Spain’s emergency response units were deployed to devastated areas. Rescue services were also heading east from other parts of Spain. Spain’s central government established a crisis committee to help coordinate rescue efforts.

An elderly couple was rescued from the upper floor of their house by a military unit using a bulldozer, and they were accompanied by three soldiers with a giant shovel.

Television reports showed videos taken by panicked residents documenting water inundating the ground floors of apartment buildings, streams bursting their banks and bridges collapsing.

Spain’s national weather service described the rainfall as “extraordinary” in Valencia’s Chiva district, which accumulated 491 liters per square meter (108 gallons per 32.3 square feet) in eight hours.

Spain experienced similar autumn storms In recent years. But it’s nothing compared to the destruction reminiscent of the floods of the last two days in Germany and Belgium 230 people were killed in 2021.

The death toll is likely to rise as victims in other regions have not yet been reported and searches continue in areas with difficult access.

In the village of Letur in the neighboring Castilla La Mancha region, Mayor Sergio Marín Sánchez said six people were missing.

Spain is still trying to recover from a serious drought and continues to break records high temperatures In recent years. Scientists say extreme weather events are increasing possibly linked to climate change.

The prolonged drought also made it difficult for the soil to absorb large amounts of water.

The storms unleashed a rarely seen tornado as well as a strange hailstorm that blew holes in car windows and greenhouses.

Transportation was also affected. A high-speed train with nearly 300 people on board derailed near Malaga, although railway officials said no one was injured. High-speed train service and suburban lines between the city of Valencia and Madrid were also disrupted.

Valencia regional president Carlos Mazón urged people to stay at home, with road travel already difficult due to fallen trees and wrecked vehicles. Mazón said rescue efforts were hampered because power lines were cut, leaving areas without electricity, and phone lines were clogged with calls. He said the regional emergency service attended about 30,000 calls.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told reporters in Brussels that the EU would help by using the Copernicus geo-tracking satellite system “to help coordinate rescue teams.”

The European Union leader said the bloc was ready to activate a civil protection mechanism offering joint assistance from the other 26 member states if Spain requests assistance.

“Europe is ready to help,” von der Leyen said.

As the water fell, thick layers of mud mixed with garbage made the streets unrecognizable.

“The neighborhood was destroyed, all the cars were on top of each other, literally torn to shreds,” Christian Viena, a bar owner in Valencia’s Barrio de la Torre village, said by phone. “Everything is a complete wreck, everything is ready to be thrown away. “The mud is almost 30 centimeters (11 inches) deep.”

Outside Viena’s bar, people were coming out to see what they could salvage. Cars were piled up on top of each other and the streets were filled with waterlogged branches.

Relatives of the missing filled social media, local television and radio channels with calls to find their loved ones.

Leonardo Enrique told RTVE that his family searched for hours for his son, Leonardo Enrique Rivera, 40, who was driving the delivery van when it started raining. Enrique said his son sent him a message saying his van was submerged and that another vehicle had hit him while they were near Ribarroja, one of the worst-hit industrial towns.

Located on the Mediterranean coast south of Barcelona, ​​Valencia is a tourist destination known for its beaches, citrus groves and as the home of Spain’s paella pilaf.

Like some other parts of Spain, Valencia has gorges and small riverbeds that are completely dry most of the year but quickly fill with water when it rains. Many of them pass through residential areas.

Rain tapered off in Valencia late Wednesday morning as the storm moved north, prompting officials in the Barcelona region to issue weather warnings.

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Medrano reported from Madrid. Associated Press journalist Lorne Cook in Brussels contributed.

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