Barcelona is facing a red alert warning for dangerous torrential train, with part of the city, including the airport, beginning to flood.
Fatalities from Spain’s worst flash floods in modern history rose to 217 almost all of them in the Valencia region and more than 60 in the suburb of Paiporta. Hundreds are still missing
The deadly storm that swept through Barcelona led to the suspension of 70 departing flights and the diversion of another 18 at Barcelona-El Prat Airport, according to operator Aena.
The heavy rainfall has also caused flooding in key areas, including the T-1 terminal and parking facilities.
Footage from the city showed the runway completely submerged as one plane aborted a landing and the few planes left on the tarmac were forced to sludge through several inches of flood water.
Meanwhile, in Valencia, the search continued for bodies inside houses and thousands of wrecked cars strewn in the streets, on highways, and in canals that channeled last week’s floods into populated areas.
In the Aldaia municipality, some 50 soldiers, police and firefighters, some wearing wetsuits, searched in a huge shopping center’s underground parking lot for possible victims. They used a small boat and spotlights to move around in the huge structure with vehicles submerged in at least a meter of murky water.
Spain’s king vows to give ‘hope’ after angry residents throw mud on his visit to Valencia town
Spain’s king responds after angry residents throw mud on his visit to Valencia town
Spain’s king has vowed to give “hope” after angry residents threw mud at him during his visit to a flood-stricken town in Valencia. More than 200 people have died and thousands of livelihoods have been shattered following last week’s devastating floods. The king’s comments came during a visit to the epicenter of their nation’s deadliest natural disaster in living memory, where a crowd of enraged locals hurled clots of mud left by the storm-spawned flooding at Felipe VI and his wife Queen Letizia. After the visit on Sunday (3 November), in a meeting with emergency services, Felipe said the anger had to be dealt with.
Stuti Mishra5 November 2024 08:00
Protests in Valencia planned for Saturday
Unions and leftwing cultural associations have announced a protest in Valencia on Saturday to call for regional president Carlos Mazon, of the conservative People’s Party, to step down.
A daily protest in Madrid outside the headquarters of Sanchez’s Socialist party drew more people on Sunday, about 600, due to anger over the floods, according to El Pais newspaper.
Opposition politicians accused the left-wing central government of acting too slowly to warn residents and send in rescuers, while Madrid has said regional authorities were responsible for civil protection.
Barney Davis5 November 2024 07:00
Politicians point the finger over who is to blame for failure to warn residents of fatal floods
Spanish minister Felix Bolanos from the Socialist Party said Tuesday’s cabinet would declare some of the worst hit villages by the floods in the regions of Valencia, Andalusia, Castile La Mancha and Catalonia as “severely affected areas” so that they can be entitled to emergency funds.
He added that the government would approve on Tuesday a package of relief measures to help people cope with the situation without giving further details.
Opposition politicians accused the left-wing central government of acting too slowly to warn residents and send in rescuers.
Mazon on Monday had previously said the Hydrographic Confederation of Jucar (CHJ), which measures the flow of rivers and ravines for the state, had cancelled a planned alert three times.
But Madrid said the CHJ does not issue flood risk alerts, which are the responsibility of Spain’s regional governments.
Barney Davis5 November 2024 06:10
Expat teacher in Spain still trapped after flood waters surround town and food runs out
An expat teacher living south of Valencia in Spain says he is unable to leave his town due to being “surrounded by water” following flash flooding in the region.
John Fahy, 55, who lives in a seaside town called Cullera, also reported there being no food in the supermarkets, with no new supplies expected for a while.
“We can’t leave our town because it’s flooded all around,” he said.
“There’s no-one in the shops in Cullera because there’s no food and there won’t be for a while.”
Read the full article here:
Stuti Mishra5 November 2024 05:00
Video: Passengers walk through water as airport flooded
Images and videos on social media shows flooding in the terminals of Barcelona’s El Prat Airport, after the city was lashed by fresh rainfall on Monday.At least 70 flights were cancelled and 18 diverted as a result.
Spain’s weather forecaster Aena warned that Barcelona could be hit by another five inches of rain on Monday with some showers falling on flood ravaged Valencia too.
The flooding affected key areas, including the T-1 terminal and parking facilities. Passengers were kept away from these areas while airport staff continued to clear the water and restore normal operations.
Aena said that the storm has significantly disrupted all activities at the airport, resulting in “considerable” delays after air traffic controllers were forced to space out flight departures.
Passengers were advised to check the state of their flights online and prepare for potential delays as the airport continues to manage the impact of the floods.
Stuti Mishra5 November 2024 04:00
Watch: Spain’s king dodges mud from angry crowd in flood-hit Valencia
Watch: Spain’s king dodges mud from angry crowd in flood-hit Valencia
Spain’s King Felipe dodged mud as objects were thrown while he visited areas in Paiporta, Valencia affected by the country’s worst-ever flood-related disaster on Sunday (3 November). Shouts of “murderers” were heard when the monarch arrived protected by an umbrella. Locals are reeling as the death toll reaches at least 217 and could increase as rescue and cleanup operations continue. The King and his wife, Queen Letizia, visited Valencia with prime minister Pedro Sanchez. They met local officials, emergency responders and civilians.
Barney Davis5 November 2024 03:10
How Spain’s ‘catastrophic’ floods led to over 200 deaths – explained through pictures
The deadly floods left cars piled up like toys in streets, swallowed homes, and covered entire neighbourhoods in sludge and debris. Muddy rivers swept away everything in their path – roads, houses and key infrastructure.
Thousands of people are still facing power and water cuts and shortages of basic goods, especially in the eastern region, the worst affected.
Here’s all we know about the devastating floods, the causes, and the scale of the impact:
Barney Davis5 November 2024 02:00
‘It could go down as the greatest day of Felipe’s reign’ Professor reacts to mud slinging at Spanish king
Oriol Bartomeus, a political science professor at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, said of the moment angry Valencia residents threw mud at the king and chased off other politicians.
Speaking of King Felipe’s reaction where he engaged in dialogue with the people, Prof Bartomeus said : “If he had sought protection from his bodyguards and run away, now that would have been the darkest day of his reign.
“Instead he showed why he is king, demonstrating composure and serenity, and by getting as close as he could to the people.”
The 56-year-old Felipe took over a Royal House whose reputation was in tatters after the financial and lifestyle scandals of his father, Juan Carlos, who abdicated in 2014.
Where the prime minister was pelted and fled Felipe stood his ground for over half an hour. It was impossible to hear what was said, but he spoke to several shouting people in an intimate and apparently serious tone.Bartomeus, who said he is not a fervent defender of the monarchy, noted what the king didn’t do: He didn’t appear to patronise the people.“
He didn’t console the people, like for example you see the British royals do,” Bartomeus said. Instead, “he dialogued with them. He put the state on his back, got down off the pedestal and went down to the people who were telling him that the state had not arrived, and he told them that it will.”
Barney Davis5 November 2024 01:10
Valencia households to get €6,000
The regional head of Valencia, Carlos Mazon, said that his region would separately hand out each household 6,000 euros and make available at least 200,000 euros to help each town face urgent spending needs.
In total, Mazon, of the conservative People’s Party, said the region would request from Spain’s central government a first aid package worth around 31.4 billion euros, including funds to reconstruct key infrastructure.
Locals criticised late alerts from authorities about the dangers and a perceived delayed response by emergency services.
But General Javier Marcos, commander of the army’s emergency response services, said he had ordered 500 soldiers to be deployed within 15 minutes of seeing the flood warning on Tuesday who were able to enter hard-hit areas.
“The degree of destruction is so great that mobility is limited,” he said. “It is so complex that it requires two things: discipline and patience.”
Barney Davis5 November 2024 00:10
Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti says all football games should have been cancelled
Football games should not have been played at the weekend after the deadly floods, the Real Madrid manager has said.
“Football should have stopped this weekend,” Carlo Ancelotti said.
He added: “Football is a party and you can celebrate when things are going well, but when they’re not going well there’s no celebration to be had. It’s the most important of the unimportant things in life.”
“But we are not the ones in charge and we have zero power”, adding: “All the coaches had the same opinion not to play.”
Barney Davis4 November 2024 23:10