International

Two dead, two missing after devastating floods in Spain

Two people have died and two are missing after devastating floods in Spain. Heavy rains have caused major flooding in parts of the country, prompting multiple weather warnings, BBC News reported, cited by Digi24.

Helicopters were sent to rescue people who were stranded on the roofs of their homes in the Toledo area, about 50 kilometres southwest of Madrid, emergency services said. Two people died in the rural area near the city of Toledo, a police spokesperson said.

Extreme weather alerts are in effect in the Madrid, Toledo, and Cadiz regions.

In the Madrid region, emergency services have been called to over 1,200 incidents, and firefighters and police are searching for a man in the Aldea del Fresno rural area. The man disappeared along with his son when their car was swept away by floodwaters.

“The minor was rescued after climbing a tree,” the Madrid emergency service said. Another man, aged 84, is missing in the Villamanta area, west of Madrid.

Much of the precipitation was concentrated in the coastal regions of Cadiz, Tarragona, and Castelló. In the eastern province of Castelló, firefighters rescued a man who was trapped in his car, which was surrounded by water. People were also advised to avoid travel in the city of Alcanar, Tarragona, where 215 litres of rain fell per square metre in a 24-hour period.

Juan Carlos Penafiel, who was visiting the city, said he was woken up by water coming into his second-floor apartment. “We organised ourselves to make ropes from towels and bed linen and used them to pull two young people who were trapped by columns,” he told the Reuters news agency.

“We pulled them to the top floor and saved them. It was terrifying, very scary. No one came, we were left alone to save ourselves,” he added. According to the El País newspaper, some train services have been suspended in Spain, and drivers have been warned to avoid certain roads in heavily flooded areas.

Translation by Iurie Tataru

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