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.
Subscribe to 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.
-
Tuvalu is being lost to climate change. Other countries will likely follow.
Under the Radar Sea level rise is putting islands underwater
-
Massive earthquake sends tsunami across Pacific
Speed Read Hundreds of thousands of people in Japan and Hawaii were told to evacuate to higher ground
-
FEMA Urban Search and Rescue chief resigns
Speed Read Ken Pagurek has left the organization, citing 'chaos'
-
Melting glaciers may lead to more volcanic eruptions
Under the radar We're in for a boom
-
Wildfires destroy historic Grand Canyon lodge
Speed Read Dozens of structures on the North Rim have succumbed to the Dragon Bravo Fire
-
Europe's heatwave: the new front line of climate change
In the Spotlight How will the continent adapt to 'bearing the brunt of climate change'?
-
Why are flash floods in Texas so deadly?
Today's Big Question Over 100 people, including 27 girls at a summer camp, died in recent flooding
-
Search for survivors continues after Texas floods
Speed Read A total of 82 people are confirmed dead, including 28 children