The number of people killed by the devastating floods in Spain soared to 158 on Thursday, as parts of the country braced for more heavy rain.
The government of the hard-hit eastern region of Valencia confirmed that 155 bodies had been recovered in the region alone.
Another three victims were recorded in the regions of Andalusia and Castile-La Mancha.
The meteorological service AEMET issued a new flood warning on Thursday for the entire province of Castellón in the Valencia region.
“The storms are not over yet,” Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez warned during a visit to Valencia on Thursday. He assured local people of the support of the central government in Madrid.
The Spanish government also called on the population to exercise the utmost caution in the coming days, especially on the popular holiday islands of Mallorca and Menorca, where an orange warning level – the second highest – has been applied.
Friday is a public holiday in Spain, marking the start of a long weekend, which many Spaniards would normally use for travel. But Sánchez appealed to the people in the affected provinces of Valencia and Castellón to “Stay at home!”
He said it was important to heed the warnings of the authorities and follow their recommendations.
Search and rescue operations continue
Dozens of people remained missing as search and rescue operations continued on Thursday.
Defence Minister Margarita Robles told the television channel Telecinco that finding the people that were still missing was the top priority of the day.
The first clean-up phase was completed overnight, said the president of the Valencia regional government, Carlos Mazón.
Approximately 70 aerial operations were carried out, and, reportedly, all people who had sought refuge on rooftops were rescued.
Mazón said emergency services had reached all affected communities.
The central government has promised swift assistance with reconstruction to those affected.
It also announced a three-day period of national mourning beginning on Thursday.
Warning system under fire
Robles declined to comment on the discussions that have flared up about the emergency warning system ahead of the storms.
“Everyone knows what they did well and poorly,” she said, referring to a dispute between Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska and Mazón, both of whom accuse the other of being responsible for the civil defence warnings.
Warnings were sent to the mobile phones of everyone in the Valencia region at around 8:10 pm on Tuesday, according to RTVE.
But it had already started raining hours before that, the El País newspaper said, adding that the weather service AEMET had already issued the highest level of alert at around 7:30 am on Tuesday.
Mazón had previously rejected criticism that the population was warned too late about the floodwaters. Initial warnings to the public, he said, were issued as early as Sunday.
Historic storm recorded
During the extremely heavy rainfall – in some areas as much rain fell in one day as would normally fall in a year – rivers burst their banks on Tuesday.
The floodwaters destroyed houses and swept away trees, people and vehicles.
In some places in the Valencia region, which is popular with tourists, up to 490 millimetres of rain were recorded in the span of eight hours.
Other popular tourist regions, such as Andalusia, Murcia and Castile-La Mancha, were also hit hard by the heavy rainfall.
AEMET described it as a “historic storm,” apparently the worst of its kind in this century in the Valencia region.
The disaster was triggered by a “cold drop,” known in Spanish as “gota fría.” It is a weather phenomenon common in the Spanish Mediterranean region during September and October.
It occurs when the first Atlantic low-pressure streams, carrying cold, humid air, collide with the warm Mediterranean, leading to intense storms.
