Torrential rain brings deadly flooding to Spain 

At least 95 people have died in eastern, central and southern Spain after torrential rains triggered the country’s deadliest floods in three decades, unleashing torrents of muddy water that surged through cities, towns and villages, trapping people in their homes, bringing down trees, and cutting off roads and railway lines. As the search for dozens of missing people continued, motorists were urged to stay off the roads and away from swollen rivers amid warnings that the severe weather was not over and that the number of deaths could still rise.

Motorists began journeys only to find themselves trapped on roads and left at the mercy of raging torrents of water.

“They raised the alarm when the water was already here, there’s no need to tell me the flood is coming,” fumed Julian Ormeno, a 66-year-old pensioner in the Valencia city suburb of Sedavi.

“Nobody came to take responsibility,” he told AFP.

With weather forecasters issuing warnings beforehand, such tragedies are “entirely avoidable” if people can be kept away from surging flood water, said Hannah Cloke, hydrology professor at the University of Reading.

The devastating outcome suggests Valencia’s warning system failed, she said. “People just don’t know what to do when faced with a flood, or when they hear warnings.”

“People shouldn’t be dying from these kinds of forecasted weather events in countries where they have the resources to do better,” added Liz Stephens, a professor in climate risks and resilience at the University of Reading.

Scientists warn that extreme weather events are becoming more intense, last longer and occur more frequently as a result of human-induced climate change.

But in some cases, even the best-prepared warning systems can be caught off guard, analysts said.

Such extreme weather “can overwhelm the ability of existing defences and contingency plans to cope, even in a relatively wealthy country like Spain”, said Leslie Mabon, senior lecturer in environmental systems at Britain’s Open University.

“The floods in Spain are a timely reminder that no country is exempt from the risks of climate change.”

For Linda Speight, a lecturer at the School of Geography and the Environment at the University of Oxford, warnings for intense thunderstorms are “incredibly hard to issue” as the exact location of the heaviest rainfall is usually unknown in advance.

“We urgently need to adapt our cities to be more resilient to floods,” she added, suggesting making space for water to flow through urban environments without causing damage.

“We take preparation for other hazards such as earthquakes and tsunami very seriously,” added Jess Neumann, associate professor of hydrology, at the University of Reading.

“It is time we afforded the same to flood risk preparedness.”

Government minister Angel Victor Torres declined to answer directly when asked about the potential delay in sending alerts to the population.