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Floods kill at least 62 people in Spain's Valencia

CGTN

 , Updated 20:43, 30-Oct-2024
Residents look at cars piled up after being swept away by floods in Valencia, Spain, October 30, 2024. /CFP
Residents look at cars piled up after being swept away by floods in Valencia, Spain, October 30, 2024. /CFP

Residents look at cars piled up after being swept away by floods in Valencia, Spain, October 30, 2024. /CFP

The death toll from floods sparked by torrential rains in Spain's eastern Valencia region has climbed to 62, emergency services said on Wednesday. 

"New toll produced by the various security and emergency forces: provisional figure of 62 fatal victims," the body that coordinates the region's emergency services wrote on X.

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez urged citizens not to lower their guard as the emergency continued and pledged not to "abandon" victims of the disaster on a scale rarely seen in the European country.

"For those who at this moment are still looking for their loved ones, the whole of Spain weeps with you," Sanchez said in a televised address. "To the villages and cities destroyed by this tragedy, I say the same: Together, we will rebuild your streets, your squares, your bridges." 

Carlos Mazon, the regional leader of Valencia, one of Spain's most important agricultural regions, said some people remained isolated in inaccessible locations. "If emergency services have not arrived, it's not due to a lack of means or predisposition, but a problem of access," Mazon told a press conference, adding that reaching certain areas was "absolutely impossible".

Trains to the cities of Madrid and Barcelona were cancelled due to the flooding, and schools and other essential services were suspended in the worst-hit areas, officials said.

Heavy rain and fierce winds have lashed Spain since the beginning of the week, sparking floods in the eastern Valencia and southern Andalusia regions.

(With input from agencies)

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