Spain flood death toll expected to rise as weather warning systems come under criticism | Spain

Rescue workers in Spain continued to search for more victims after deadly floods, raising questions about why one of the world's most developed countries failed to adequately respond to an extreme storm.

Heavy rains that began earlier in the week triggered flooding that killed at least 95 people. It was the deadliest disaster of its kind in the Western European country since 1973.

Defense Minister Margarita Robles told Cadena Ser radio that a military unit specializing in rescue operations would begin combing the mud and debris with sniffer dogs in the worst-hit areas on Thursday.

Asked whether the number of victims was likely to rise, she said: “Unfortunately we are not optimistic.” Teams have brought in 50 mobile morgues.

More heavy rain was forecast for Thursday for the worst-hit eastern Valencia region and other areas on the northeast coast.

Some residents have asked for news about their missing loved ones via social media, television and radio shows.

Leonardo Enrique told RTVE that his family searched for hours for his 40-year-old son, Leonardo Enrique Rivera, who was driving a van when the rain began.

His son sent a message that his van was flooded and that he had been hit by another vehicle near Ribarroja, an industrial town in Valencia, Enrique said.

National weather agency AEMET issued a red alert for the Valencia region on Tuesday morning and conditions worsened throughout the day.

But it wasn't until early in the evening that the regional office responsible for coordinating the emergency services was set up.

And after 8 p.m., a civil protection warning was sent out asking residents of the Mediterranean coastal city of Valencia not to leave their homes.

For many it was already too late. Drivers began their journey only to find themselves stranded on the road and at the mercy of raging water.

“They raised the alarm when the water was already there. There is no need to tell me that the flood is coming,” fumed Julian Ormeno, a 66-year-old pensioner in the Valencian suburb of Sedavi.

“No one has come to take responsibility,” he told AFP.

With weather forecasters issuing warnings in advance, such tragedies are “entirely avoidable” if people can be kept away from rising floodwaters, said Hannah Cloke, a hydrology professor at the University of Reading.

The devastating result suggests that Valencia's warning system failed, she said. “People simply don’t know what to do when faced with flooding or hearing warnings.”

“People should not die from such predicted weather events in countries where they have the resources to do better,” added Liz Stephens, professor of climate risk and resilience at the University of Reading.

“We still have a long way to go to prepare for such an event and even worse ones in the future.”

Tuesday's floods were the worst in Spain since 1996, when 87 people died after torrential rain hit a campsite in the Pyrenees. The most recent catastrophic floods in Europe occurred in July 2021, claiming 243 lives in Germany, Belgium, Romania, Italy and Austria.

The heavy rain was attributed to a phenomenon known as Gotta friaor “cold drop,” which occurs when cold air flows over the warm waters of the Mediterranean. This causes atmospheric instability, causing warm, saturated air to rise rapidly, resulting in heavy rain and thunderstorms.

Experts say warming Mediterranean Sea, which increases water evaporation, plays a key role in worsening torrential rains.

According to Hayley Fowler, professor of climate change impacts at Britain's Newcastle University, the events are “another wake-up call that our climate is changing rapidly.”

“Our infrastructure is not designed to handle these levels of flooding,” she added, saying that “record hotter” warmer ocean temperatures are triggering storms that cause extreme amounts of rain in one place.

Scientists warn that extreme weather events are becoming more intense, lasting longer and occurring more frequently due to human-caused climate change.

But in some cases, even the best-prepared warning systems can be unprepared, analysts say.

Such extreme weather conditions “can overwhelm the ability of existing defenses and emergency plans, even in a relatively wealthy country like Spain,” said Leslie Mabon, a lecturer in environmental systems at Britain's Open University.

“The floods in Spain are a timely reminder that no country is spared from the risks of climate change.”

For Linda Speight, a lecturer at the University of Oxford's School of Geography and the Environment, severe thunderstorm warnings are “incredibly difficult to issue” because the exact location of the heaviest rainfall is usually unknown in advance.

“We urgently need to adapt our cities to be more resilient to flooding,” she added, suggesting creating space for water to flow through urban environments without causing damage.

“We take preparation for other hazards such as earthquakes and tsunamis very seriously,” added Jess Neumann, associate professor of hydrology at the University of Reading.

“It’s time we did the same when it comes to flood risk preparedness.”

Government Minister Angel Victor Torres declined to give a direct answer when asked about the possible delay in sending alerts to the population.

Agence France-Presse, Reuters and Associated Press contributed to this report