<
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/oct/30/we-were-trapped-like-rats-spains-floods-bring-devastation-and-despair>
"The gratitude that greeted Tuesday’s dawn downpours was short-lived in Utiel.
When the longed-for rains finally reached the town in the drought-stricken
eastern Spanish region of Valencia, they were merciless in their abundance.
“People were very happy at first because they’d been praying for rain as their
lands needed water,” said Remedios, who owns a bar in Utiel. “But by 12
o’clock, this storm had really hit and we were all pretty terrified.”
Trapped in the bar, she and a handful of her customers could only sit and watch
as Spain’s worst flooding in almost 30 years caused the Magro River to overflow
its banks, trapping some residents in their homes and sending cars and rubbish
bins surging through the streets on muddy flood waters.
“The rising waters brought mud and stones with them and they were so strong
that they broke the surface of the road,” said Remedios, who gave only her
first name.
“The tunnel that leads into the town was half-full of mud, trees were down and
there were cars and rubbish containers rolling down the streets. My outside
terrace has been destroyed – the chairs and shades were all swept away. It’s
just a disaster.”
By Wednesday afternoon, the death toll in Valencia and the neighbouring regions
of Castilla-La Mancha and Andalucía stood at 95. Utiel’s mayor, Ricardo
Gabaldón, told
Las Provincias newspaper that some of the town’s residents had
not survived the floods, but was unable to provide an exact number.
Hours earlier, Gabaldón had told Spain’s national broadcaster,
RTVE, that
Tuesday had been the worst day of his life. “We were trapped like rats,” he
said. “Cars and rubbish containers were flowing down the streets. The water was
rising to 3 metres.”"
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
