Latest news At least 158 dead in storms in Spain

The number of deaths following the devastating storms in large parts of Spain has risen to at least 158. In the worst-hit region of Valencia in the east of the country alone, 155 bodies have been recovered, according to the regional government. There were a further three victims in the regions of Andalusia and Castilla-La Mancha. Dozens of people are still missing.

Extremely heavy rainfall caused more and more rivers to burst their banks on Tuesday, especially in Valencia, but also in the Mediterranean regions of Murcia and Andalusia, which are also very popular with tourists, as well as in Castilla-La Mancha. The weather service Aemet spoke of a "historic storm", the worst of its kind in the Valencia region, where the most deaths were recorded.

In some places, as much rain fell in one day as normally falls in a year - according to Aemet, up to 490 liters of rain per square meter in some places in the Valencia region. Within a very short space of time, roads turned into rivers and streams into torrents that swept away people, cars and trees as well as infrastructure, causing major devastation in many places.

The storms were triggered by the weather phenomenon "Dana" or "cold drop" (gota fría). It occurs frequently in the Spanish Mediterranean region in the months of September and October and is based on strongly fluctuating sea and air temperatures. The phenomenon occurs when the first Atlantic lows with cold, damp air move over the warm Mediterranean.

Memories of the flood disaster in the Ahr valley

In view of these sudden weather forces, quite a few people, especially in Germany, were reminded of the flood disaster in the Ahr Valley, in which at least 135 people lost their lives in July 2021.

SDA