In Spain, catastrophe struck last week when within a matter of minutes, flash floods destroyed everything in its path. The nation is in mourning as at least 211 people have lost their lives.

Last Tuesday, a storm hit around 7:30 am in the southeast region of Valencia. As it concentrated over the Turia and Margo river basins, people carried on with their day, unaware of the dangers to come.

By 10:30 AM, firefighters began the first rescues as gorges and gullies quickly filled with torrential rain, and water streaming from the mountains.

And by 5 PM, the rivers had burst - submerging roads and tracks. Hundreds of unknowing citizens were ambushed by walls of water as they traveled home from work. Cars piled up like toys in the streets, with survivors sheltering on car roofs. The waters inundated Valencia's airport and swept away bridges.

Still, there was no warning. No alerts.

In just 8 hours, a year's worth of rain fell.

This could be Europe's deadliest natural disaster since Romania in the 1970s. But this wasn’t unprecedented—the southeast region is known to experience storms due to a seasonal weather phenomenon known as “Gita Fria” or “cold drop.”

In fact, a 1957 flood was so devastating, that the city spent millions to reroute its river. Across the globe, people are asking why this flood has caught Spain unaware and caused so many casualties.

Climate Change

The storm was caused by cold air passing over the warm Mediterranean Sea. This creates atmospheric instability when moist, warm air accumulates to form dense, dominating clouds capable of dumping heavy rain.

These clouds often remain in the same area for hours- which happened here in south-east Spain. This not only overflowed the river basins but increased the storm's destructive potential- leading to hailstones and tornadoes as well as rain.

A group of international scientists, (WWA) have found that climate change doubled the chance of this storm happening and made it 12% heavier.

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Government Response

Citizens have criticized the government's response to the floods with many describing it as “too little, too late”.

Rain began early in the morning but there were no emergency text alerts until 8 PM, by which point thousands were trapped in their homes and couldn’t evacuate.

Valencia’s president, Carlos Mazón, released a statement at noon on X downplaying the storm and saying that the rain was subsiding. This contradicted urgent advice from Spain's National Weather Service who had been warning of the danger for several days preceding.

Instead of organizing an emergency response, Mazón kept his schedule that Tuesday, which included posing for promotional pictures as disaster struck. Many citizens express feeling ‘let down’ as so many deaths could have been preventable.

In La Torre, citizens didn’t realize the severity of the storm so many rushed to garages in case their cars were flooded. This proved to be a ‘death trap’, and cost lives.

There are also concerns that infrastructure was not adequately prepared for a storm. One town just outside of Valencia, Paiporta lost 62 lives. Six of these were elderly people who lived in ground-floor apartments- which there are many of in the city.

What's Next?

Citizens are bracing for the storm's aftermath, with rains set to continue through the Balearic Islands, Valencia, and Catalonia.

Sludge and debris remain rife within the city. Buildings are caked with mud. Ambulances are struggling to get to those in need due to cars littering the street. Many of these vehicles- overturned and trapped in mud- may still have people inside.

Thousands of hectares of farmland have been destroyed where Spain grows citrus fruits which it exports more of than any other country in the world. Businesses are left physically and economically devastated.

Now, 90% of electricity is back but many remain without electricity or clean water. Some survivors have had to sleep on terraced roofs due to destruction in their own homes.

Locals are reporting that dozens are looting abandoned supermarkets in desperation, as there are fears food is running out.

Hundreds of volunteers have taken to the streets, walking miles every day with brooms and shovels (some makeshift due to shortages), as well as carrying water and basic food. Others are organizing food banks and distributing essential items.

Due to the concentration of the storm, just five miles away there is almost no evidence of the torrential rains. Many of these residents are also traveling out to help.

In response, Valencia’s president, Carlos Mazón has deployed 5,000 more soldiers and 5,000 national police to assist in the rescue efforts and clearing debris. They join 2,000 emergency military and 2,500 guard gendarme (military police), who have already carried out over 4,500 rescues.

Last week, Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez highlighted the weather warnings that are still in place.

He said: “We mustn’t let our guard down because the weather front is still wreaking havoc and we can’t say that this devastating episode. is over.