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Spain searches for missing after deadly floods as clean-up starts

Spanish rescue groups scoured flooded fields and stranded cars and trucks on Thursday for those still missing after ravaging floods in the Valencia region that eliminated a minimum of 95 people, with forecasts of more bad weather condition prompting storm informs further north.

Local authorities have not revealed the number of people are still unaccounted for after Europe's deadliest floods in years, but Defence Minister Margarita Robles stated the death toll was likely to increase.

Rescuers utilized helicopters to winch survivors to safety in locations that were still flooded and combed through thick silt and the wreckage of cars looking for bodies.

Diggers and tractors geared up with water pumps were brought in to clear particles from the streets, television footage revealed.

The floods in Valencia damaged the area's infrastructure, sweeping away bridges, roads, railtracks and structures as rivers burst their banks.

About 80 km (50 miles) of roadways in the eastern area were seriously damaged or impassable, stated Transport Minister Oscar Puente. Many were obstructed by abandoned vehicles.

Unfortunately there are dead bodies in some lorries, Puente told reporters, adding that it would take 2 to 3 weeks to re-establish the high-speed train connection in between Valencia and Madrid.

Calm weather condition returned on Thursday to the hardest-hit locations around the city of Valencia, Spain's third-largest, but the AEMET state weather condition agency released its highest level of alert for the province of Castellon. Additional north in the Catalonia area, an amber alert was released for the city of Tarragona.

Meteorologists stated a year's worth of rain had actually fallen in eight hours in parts of Valencia on Tuesday, causing pile-ups on highways and submerging farmland in an area that produces about two-thirds of the citrus fruit grown in Spain, a leading global exporter of oranges.

The storm that triggered the torrential rainstorms has because moved in a northeasterly instructions.

There are currently really strong storms in the location, especially in the north of Castellon, AEMET published on its X. account. The unfavorable weather condition continues! Be careful! it added,. saying people need to not travel to the area.

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez went to a rescue coordination. centre in L'Eliana, near the city of Valencia, and advised people. to remain at home due to the hazard of more stormy weather.

Right now the most crucial thing is to secure as lots of. lives as possible, he told reporters.

Locals explained seeing people clambering onto the. roofs of their automobiles as a churning tide of brown water gushed. through the streets on Tuesday, uprooting trees and dragging. away portions of masonry from structures.

CITIZENS COUNT LOSSES

In the hard-hit rural town of Utiel, some 85 km (53 miles). inland from the city of Valencia, the Magro river burst its. banks, sending out up to 3 metres (9.8 feet) of water into. homes, which are mostly single-storey.

Utiel's mayor, Ricardo Gabaldon, said at least 6 people. had died in the town of about 12,000, most of them senior or. handicapped people who were not able to clamber to safety.

Locals used water pumps continued tractors as they. begun to clean up early on Thursday, with children assisting to. sweep the walkways. Ruined family devices and furnishings. were accumulated in the middle of roadways and senior people. struggled to walk in the slippery, mud-coated streets.

The sadness is for the people who have passed away, said Encarna,. a 60-year-old teacher in the town, wiping away tears as she. spoke in the street near her damaged home. These are my. savings, my effort, my life. However we are alive.

The floods have actually likewise damaged crops and eliminated livestock.

Utiel homeowners Javier Iranzo, 47, and Ana Carmen Fernandez,. 48, informed Reuters the flooding had actually completely wrecked their pig. farm, with 50 of their animals having drowned.

They approximated the catastrophe had triggered hundreds of. countless euros of damages and, in spite of government promises of. assistance, stated they stressed over whether they would get state. aid to help reconstruct.

(source: Reuters)