British man, 71, dies in hospital after year's worth of rain falls in just one day in Spain
WATCH: Military unit rescues people as several bodies found in flood-hit areas of Spain
GB NEWS
A British pensioner has died in Spain after parts of the country's southwest were rocked by a year's worth of rain in just one day.
The man, 71, died in hospital after being rescued from his Malaga home, the leader of the Andalusia regional government Juanma Moreno has said.
On social media, Moreno wrote: "He was suffering from hypothermia and died after suffering several cardiac arrests."
The number of people killed by the extreme flooding now stands at at least 95, according to local authorities.
The number of people killed by the extreme flooding now stands at at least 73
REUTERS
In fellow southwestern region Valencia, a year's worth of rain had fallen in just eight hours - devastating roads, bridges and farmland in one of Spain's key agricultural regions.
Meanwhile, cars and trucks were seen piled on top of each other on highways, while city streets were left covered in thick mud after the waters subsided.
Some parts of Valencia such as the towns of Turis, Chiva and Bunol recorded more than 15 inches of rainfall in that time.
Residents in some of the worst-hit places said they had seen people clambering onto the roofs of their cars as brown water surged through the streets, uprooting trees and destroying parts of buildings.
MORE FROM SPAIN:
A year's worth rain had fallen in just eight hours in Valencia
REUTERS
One, petrol station worker Denis Hlavaty who was forced to find shelter on a ledge at his workplace, said: "It's a river that came through.
"The doors were torn away and I spent the night there, surrounded by water that was 2 metres deep."
Another resident, construction worker Antonio Carmona, said the floods "took away lots of dogs, lots of horses, they took away everything."
Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez has promised to rebuild infrastructure that had been destroyed, saying in a televised address: "For those who at this moment are still looking for their loved ones, the whole of Spain weeps with you."
The torrential rain has devastated infrastructure in Spain
REUTERS
Roads and vehicles were left covered in mud after the floodwaters hit
REUTERS
The disaster - in a region where some 90,000 Britons are resident - is the deadliest spate of floods in Spain since 1996, when 87 people died near a town in the Pyrenees.
And more broadly, it's set to be the worst in Europe since 2021, when at least 185 people died in Germany.
Spain's minister of regional affairs, Angel Victor Torres, has said authorities were still unable to give a final number for all those still missing and has suggested the death toll was likely to rise further.
"This shows the tremendous magnitude of this tragedy," he added.
You may like
