At least 155 people have been killed by devastating flash floods that destroyed villages in Valencia, leaving residents to wake up to sights of destruction on Thursday.
With an undetermined number of individuals still unaccounted for, the death toll is predicted to increase further as search operations continue.
With pictures strikingly similar to the devastation caused by a storm or tsunami, it is the deadliest natural disaster to strike Spain this century.
While Spanish military forces tried to clean flooded regions, a thick coating of muck blanketed numerous streets and wrecked automobiles and trucks piled up along the roadways.
Local rescue personnel and more than a thousand soldiers searched for survivors and remains.
Water and electricity were cut off to thousands of people, and portions of the area were isolated as roads were cut off and train lines disrupted.
Spain’s government declared three days of mourning starting Thursday.
(AP)
