Devastating floods in Spain leave 217 dead, rescue efforts on

Warnings for heavy rain in Spain have been issued for areas in northeastern Catalonia, as well as the Tarragona coastline. Meteorologists predict that up to 0.5 gallons of water could fall in just 30 minutes. The Catalan weather service estimates that the rainfall will persist until Saturday morning.

Early Friday morning, the wave of rain reached the town of Cadaqués. The water in the Riera de Sant Vicenç river rose rapidly and spilled over the city streets, carrying away dozens of cars.

The town's mayor, Pia Seriñana, stated that the heaviest rains occurred in the mountainous areas. Water running down from the mountains contributed to the sudden overflowing of the riverbanks in the city center.

She emphasized that no one was hurt in the incident and that the rainfall no longer poses a threat to local residents.

Meanwhile, Spaniards continue to battle the effects of the largest flood in decades. In total, about eight thousand soldiers are operating in the municipalities of the Valencian Community. Services from Portugal are also expected to arrive on site.

The catastrophic floods have resulted in the deaths of 217 people, and the fate of 89 is still unknown. This number only includes individuals whose relatives have reported them missing, providing data and biological samples for possible identification of bodies.

The government in Madrid has allocated over 11 billion dollars to combat the disaster's effects. The assistance will cover 78 municipalities, including 75 in the province of Valencia, two in Castilla-La Mancha, and one in Andalusia.

Source: Elpais, Reuters