More than 60 people die after torrential rains cause havoc in Spain's Valencia

Srinagar, Oct 30: Over 60 people have died due to flash floods after torrential rain battered Spain's eastern region of Valencia, local authorities said.

These flash floods were triggered by heavy storms on Tuesday. Videos on the Internet showed vehicles being swept away down streets by the mud-coloured water.

More than 1,000 soldiers from Spain’s emergency response units have been deployed to affected areas and the central government has set up a crisis committee to help coordinate rescue efforts, reported Al Jazeera.

Emergency services in Valencia urged citizens to avoid any kind of road travel and to follow further updates from official sources.

Carlos Mazon, the regional leader of Valencia, told a news conference that some people remained isolated in inaccessible locations.

“If [emergency services] have not arrived, it’s not due to a lack of means or predisposition, but a problem of access,” Mazon said, adding that reaching certain areas was “absolutely impossible”.

Ricardo Gabaldon, the mayor of Utiel, a town in Valencia, told national broadcaster RTVE that “yesterday was the worst day of my life.” Several people were still missing in his town.

“We were trapped like rats. Cars and trash containers were flowing down the streets. The water was rising to three meters,” he said.