At least 95 dead in Spain flash floods
Torrential rainfall caused the country's worst flooding since 1996


What happened
At least 95 people are dead in eastern and southern Spain and more are missing after torrential rainfall Tuesday and Wednesday caused the country's worst flooding since 1996. The death toll was expected to rise.
Who said what
"The whole of Spain weeps with you," Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez told Spaniards affected by the flooding. "We won't abandon you." Most of the reported deaths were in Valencia. Witnesses "described nightmarish scenarios" of flash floods "turning roads into rivers of floating cars and cutting off highways and access points," The Washington Post said.
The extreme weather was "the result of the gota fría — literally 'cold drop,'" said El País. This cold front dropping suddenly on the unusually warm Mediterranean Sea caused the worst stream of thunderstorms "of the 21st century." Andalusia "received four times the amount of rain typical for October in a single day," The New York Times said, citing Spain's meteorological agency, and in Valencia, the village of Chiva got "practically a year's worth" of rain in just eight hours.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The "disaster in Spain is the latest in a series of generational flood events across Europe and around the globe" that scientists partially attribute to climate change, the Post said. On the flip side, The Associated Press said, "a bone-dry October is pushing nearly half of the United States into a flash drought."
What next?
Sánchez declared three days of national mourning and promised affected towns that Spain will help "rebuild your houses, plazas, bridges."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Why ‘anti-Islam’ bikers are guarding Gaza aid sites
In The Spotlight Members of Infidels MC, who regard themselves as modern Crusaders, among private security guards at Gaza Humanitarian Foundation sites
-
China: Xi seeks to fill America’s void
Feature Trump’s tariffs are pushing nations eastward as Xi Jinping focuses on strengthening ties with global leaders
-
Rebrands: Bringing back the War Department
Feature Trump revives the Department of Defense’s former name
-
How clean-air efforts may have exacerbated global warming
Under the Radar Air pollution artificially cooled the Earth, ‘masking’ extent of temperature increase
-
Earth's seasons are out of whack
Under the radar The seasons' unfixed nature in different regions of the planet may have impacted biodiversity and evolution
-
At least 800 dead in Afghanistan earthquake
speed read A magnitude 6.0 earthquake hit a mountainous region of eastern Afghanistan
-
When does autumn begin?
The Explainer The UK is experiencing a 'false autumn', as climate change shifts seasonal weather patterns
-
How 'freakosystems' are becoming the norm
The explainer Ecosystems are changing permanently
-
Cloudbursts: what are the 'rain bombs' hitting India and Pakistan?
The Explainer The sudden and intense weather event is almost impossible to forecast and often leads to deadly flash-flooding and landslides
-
What do heatwaves mean for Scandinavia?
Under the Radar A record-breaking run of sweltering days and tropical nights is changing the way people – and animals – live in typically cool Nordic countries
-
Blue whales have gone silent and it's posing troubling questions
Under the radar Warming oceans are the answer