Half of flood victims in Spain's Valencia 70 and older as epicentre survives fresh alert

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Half of flood victims in Spain's Valencia 70 and older as epicentre survives fresh alert
by AFP Staff Writers
Madrid (AFP) Nov 14, 2024

Almost half of the people killed in Spain's Valencia region during recent floods were 70 years old or older and 26 were foreigners, authorities said on Thursday.

The October 29 disaster marked the country's deadliest floods in decades. A total of 224 people were killed nationwide, with 216 of them in Valencia.

The Valencia victims included 190 Spaniards, nine Romanians, four Moroccans, four Chinese and two Britons, regional legal authorities said in a statement.

One citizen each from Ecuador, Venezuela, Ukraine, the Netherlands, Tunisia, Colombia and Paraguay were also among the fatalities, they added.

Victims aged 70 or older represented 104 of the dead in Valencia. Spain's population is ageing and the surging waters caught care home residents off guard, including in the hard-hit town of Paiporta.

Male victims were more numerous, with 131 men dying compared with 85 women.

Recovering and identifying bodies has been an arduous task for rescuers and forensic experts, who are continuing their work in Valencia with more victims believed to be missing.

Spain flood epicentre survives fresh rain alert
Valencia, Spain (AFP) Nov 14, 2024 - Spain's traumatised Valencia region emerged unscathed from an urgent rain alert on Thursday, two weeks after the country's deadliest floods in decades killed more than 200 people there.

National weather agency AEMET downgraded the highest red warning for rain by two levels for the eastern Valencia coast after a new storm made landfall without causing victims.

Regional authorities in Valencia scrapped the closure of universities, schools, adult daycare centres and sports facilities as well as travel restrictions for private vehicles announced on Wednesday.

The high-speed rail line between Madrid and Valencia restarted for the first time since being suspended by the floods, Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska told reporters.

AEMET issued an orange warning for rain for swathes of the southern Andalusia region where schools and universities remained shut for more than 500,000 pupils on Thursday.

The latest storm has sparked the evacuation of around 4,000 residents in Andalusia, its leader Juanma Moreno said, adding their return on Thursday would be "very difficult".

The October 29 disaster killed 224 people -- almost all in the Valencia region -- as well as destroying homes, businesses and infrastructure.

The swift evacuations in and around the southern city of Malaga on Wednesday "likely saved many lives", said Jess Neumann, a hydrology professor at Britain's University of Reading.