"Extent not to be expected" Now an expert explains the flash floods in Spain

After the devastating storm in Spain, which claimed at least 205 lives, criticism of the crisis management is growing. But the storm is not over yet. An expert assesses the situation for blue News.

Spain is in shock after the violent storm on Wednesday night. At least 205 people are dead. Numerous people are missing. Houses, cars and roads are completely destroyed and buried under rubble. In many places there is a lack of food, water and electricity.

On Friday night, a strong storm hit the province of Huelva and flooded a large part of it. Up to 100 liters per square meter were measured in the neighboring towns in the early hours of the morning.

More than 1200 soldiers are already involved in the rescue work. The government announced that it would be sending a further 500 soldiers to the affected regions from Friday onwards to ensure the logistics and distribution of relief supplies.

"Historic storm"

The weather service Aemet spoke of a "historic storm", the worst of its kind this century in the Valencia region. It was triggered by the weather phenomenon "gota fría", or "cold air drops".

Erich Fischer from the Institute for Atmosphere and Climate at ETH Zurich explains to blue News that such a phenomenon occurs when cold high-altitude air meets air over the still-warm Mediterranean. The consequences are heavy rainfall.

Although this kind of rainfall is common in this region in September and October, the climatologist says: "The extent was not to be expected." Although the drop of cold air could have been predicted a few days in advance, what was special was that particularly strong thunderstorms formed in a small strip around Valencia and simply remained there for hours.

The weather station in the Toris-Canyapar region south of Valencia recorded 630 liters of precipitation per square meter within 24 hours. That's the equivalent of about five bathtubs full of water. "The amount of rain was gigantic," says the expert.

An open question in science

Whether cold air drops will occur more frequently in the future is an open question in science. However, this extreme accumulation this autumn raises the question: Is it an exceptional year or is there a trend? "We don't know the answer. But what we can say is this: You can expect more intense rainfall."

While Spaniards are trying to get back on their feet and search for missing people, the country's politicians are arguing about who is to blame for this destruction. Could the many fatalities have been prevented?

According to Fischer, it is still too early to answer the question of who is to blame. But: "You do wonder why the storms in Austria and France claimed fewer lives than the one in Spain."

The last time there were so many deaths from severe weather in Europe was in 2021, when a total of 220 people lost their lives, at least 188 of them in Germany. "In both cases, it has to be said that the severe weather warning came very late," says Fischer.

Residents told various newspapers that the warning only arrived on their cell phones many hours later. When the water was already shooting through the streets.

Was too little invested in flood protection?

According to Fischer, the weather forecasters were also there. Spanish newspapers had already warned of the storm a few days in advance. But why did so many people die anyway? "On the one hand, it hit a region that is very densely populated, and on the other hand, one wonders whether too little was invested in flood protection and people were warned too late," says Fischer. Ultimately, however, one government also has a responsibility to protect its people as well as possible.

However, the heavy rainfall alone would not have led to the immense damage in Spain. The expert explains that the thunderstorm cells were aligned in such a way that the rivers burst their banks and caused the extensive damage. "Damage also occurred in regions that did not receive the maximum amount of rainfall. It must therefore be taken into account that the river that burst its banks caused the most fatalities."

Climate change intensifies such events

And climate change alone cannot be blamed for the storm, but it definitely encouraged it. "There have been events like this in the past, but climate change is making them more intense."

The storm in Spain is expected to last another three to four days. Then, according to Fischer, there will be some questions that need to be clarified. Among others: "Why did similar events in other places lead to fewer fatalities and how can we reduce the risk of flooding next time, warn earlier and prevent such a scale of disaster?"