There are dozens, at least 70, victims of the torrential rains that are devastating the province of Valencia. A toll that is unfortunately not definitive, destined to worsen, since there are still many missing for whom the Spanish government "cannot provide official data" , said the Minister of Territorial Policies, Ángel Víctor Torres, which "demonstrates the tremendous magnitude of this tragedy".
"We are facing an unprecedented situation, the likes of which no one has ever seen before," said the president of the region, Carlos Mazon. The central government has set up a crisis unit that has sent an army unit specialized in rescue operations to the Valencia region.
Farnesina: «No Italians among the victims»
At the moment there are no Italian nationals among the victims, the Farnesina communicates, explaining that the Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani is following the situation "with the utmost attention".
Sanchez to the nation: «Continuous emergency»
"Within 24 hours we can say that we are facing an emergency that continues , citizens must not lower their guard, must not take to the streets," said Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in a message to the nation. "Many cities have been affected by this tragedy, everyone is doing what they can and the crisis committee is working with the presidents of the autonomous communities with whom they are in contact."
A year's worth of rain in 8 hours
In eight hours, Spanish authorities report, a year's worth of rain fell. As El Pais writes, the State Meteorological Agency (Aemet) raised the alert level from orange to red yesterday at 8:00 am for the southern coast of Valencia, where 90 liters had accumulated in just an hour. It was estimated that the rainfall could have been between 150 and 180 liters per square meter, but in the end more than 445 were detected, according to provisional data.
" Such violence has never been seen in a hundred years ," commented Antonello Pasini, a climate physicist at CNR. "We researchers still don't know if extreme weather events have become more frequent due to global warming. But we are sure that they have become more violent. The flood in Valencia was due to what we call a 'cold drop' ," explains Pasini: "a depression with cold air inside, which breaks away from the flow of air currents that go from west to east and descends to the latitude of Spain. It is not a very rare phenomenon, but with global warming it becomes more intense."
Transport in chaos
Meanwhile, transportation is in chaos: twelve flights that were supposed to land at Valencia airport were diverted to other Spanish cities. Another ten flights that were supposed to leave or arrive at the airport were canceled. High-speed trains between Madrid and Valencia were suspended, a high-speed train carrying 276 passengers derailed in the southern region of Andalusia, but no one was injured.
(Unioneonline/D)