More bodies were anticipated to be discovered by rescuers in Spain as the death toll from devastating floods increased to 205 in Europe’s worst weather disaster in 50 years.
Spanish rescuers set up a makeshift morgue in a convention center and fought to get to areas that were still blocked off on Friday.
According to regional authorities, at least 202 people have died in Valencia, the eastern region that was worst affected by the destruction.
In Andalusia and Castilla La Mancha, three people have lost their lives. The current death toll is nearly equal to the 209 who perished in Romania’s severe floods in 1970. In 1967, floods in Portugal claimed about 500 lives.
In Huelva, in southeastern Spain, a new weather alert was issued after the storm, prompting the deployment of about 500 soldiers to rescue survivors and search for those who are still missing.
Angel Victor Torres, the minister in charge of cooperation with Spain’s regions, told a press conference late Thursday that the death toll is expected to continue to rise and that scores of others are still missing.
Firefighters were using gasoline from automobiles abandoned in the floods to power generators to restart household supplies, while roughly 75,000 houses remained without electricity.
One firefighter who had come to Valencia from the southern part of Andalusia to help with rescue attempts stated, “We’re going from car to car looking for any petrol we can find.” He was carrying empty bottles and a plastic tube to collect the petrol from the cars’ tanks.
Three days of official mourning will start on Thursday.