Severe flooding on 28 October 2024 affected several areas in the province of Valencia, including places such as Llombay and Utiel. In Llombay, the streets turned into torrential waters that rose to the first floor of buildings, while in Utiel the water level reached three metres. Local authorities were forced to close roads and organise emergency evacuation operations. In the Valencia region, rescue services, including helicopters, were deployed to assist in the affected areas, where many residents were trapped in their homes and cars.
Flooding in Valencia
Due to heavy rains, rivers burst their banks, flooding roads and buildings. In some areas, the water rose to three metres, making evacuations difficult and streets impassable for vehicles. Rescue services, including helicopters, worked to evacuate people trapped in their homes and cars. The Archbishop of Valencia expressed support for the victims, calling on local parishes to provide assistance to those in need.
In total, about 150 thousand homes are without power. The flooding was so strong that the narrow streets of the province turned into a terrible mess of cars and mud, and in some places cars were thrown onto the barriers by the flow of water. A large-scale rescue operation is underway, involving thousands of people, including the military.
It is sunny in Valencia now, there are problems with water
It is hot and sunny now, but yesterday a real disaster broke out in the north of Valencia (in the suburbs). In one night, a year's worth of rain fell, which led to the flooding of the suburbs, where many Russian programmers live. There are reports of cars washed away and traffic jams on the roads. The metro is closed, and intercity trains are not running. The victims are being placed in gyms, the government promises full support.
Those who went out into the city today, many shops are closed - first of all, this concerns those that are not essential. Museums and supermarkets are open, but, for example, clothing stores are closed. The metro is not functioning, the main means of transportation are buses.
According to the latest data, 62 people have died, including children. The number of missing people is also growing, and many hope that people are simply left without communication. Now all efforts are focused on rescuing Valencians stuck in their homes. "We have a second problem now. Someone in the city spread a rumor that there will be interruptions in the water supply. Therefore, there is no drinking water in the shops now. Some residents of Valencia have taken baths, everyone is afraid of interruptions, although in the city itself there are no interruptions in either water or electricity.
The situation remains tense, and local authorities are working to restore infrastructure and provide assistance to the victims.
Alerts, suburban flooding: what happened in Valencia on October 29
According to residents, classes in schools were cancelled yesterday. "Spanish schools usually work from 9am to 5pm, and yesterday the children left school as expected, but extracurricular activities were cancelled without prior notice.
At around 8:30pm, Valencia residents received a text and sound alert - it worked even on switched off smartphones and devices switched to silent mode. Due to heavy rains and as a preventive measure, today, Wednesday, it is worth refraining from any movement on the roads in the province of Valencia. Watch for future alerts through official channels, the warning said. The signal was repeated at 7am on Wednesday, when the weather on the coast was already normal.
The most terrifying footage came from the highways, where people were washed away and blown away along with their cars.
The city is located on the seashore. It is still quite warm in October, and water evaporates from the sea naturally. So, a strong, powerful, cold front came from the east, and all this evaporation from the sea was blown to us on the mainland. In the city itself, there was a dry thunderstorm, when everything sparkles, a terrible storm wind tears trees out by the roots, but there was no water pouring from the sky. The entire blow fell on the northern approaches to the city, where a year's worth of precipitation fell in one evening. All this precipitation along mountain rivers and ravines, which are usually empty, poured out onto residential areas in the suburbs. And this is actually a huge disaster, because the two most affected suburbs are, for example, very popular places for relocated Russian programmers to live.
It is not yet possible to cope with the consequences of the elements, which are destroying bridges and hiding cars under water. Rescuers are asking people not to leave their homes.