Spanish province on red alert as storm threat continues

The Spanish authorities have issued the highest weather warning for the country's southwestern coast as the storms which have devastated the Valencia region to the east continue to threaten lives and communities.

Last night. Taoiseach Simon Harris spoke to the Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, expressing Ireland’s horror and sorrow at the numbers of people who had lost their lives in the disaster.

While the people of Valencia continue to count the cost of the devastating flash floods earlier this week, the Spanish meteorological agency has issued a red alert for the province of Huelva, next to the Portuguese border on the southwestern coast.

The town of Huelva, as well as other municipalities, have already been flooded this morning.

In the early hours, nearby towns recorded 100 litres of water per square metre.

The agency has also issued orange alerts for the islands of Mallorca and Menorca, as well as for the northern coast and northern interior.

As Spain faces into a holiday weekend, the authorities have urged people not to travel to the Balearic islands, Catalonia, Andalusia, Valencia or Extremadura.

So far 158 people have been confirmed dead, 155 of those in the Valencia region.

The death toll is expected to climb higher as the emergency services reach towns and villages which have so far been cut off.

In a phone call with his Spanish counterpart last night, the Taoiseach Simon Harris said the stories of loss and injury were heartbreaking and Ireland would provide whatever help it could, including through EU structures.

Last night, crews continued to search for bodies in stranded cars and sodden buildings as residents salvaged what they could from their ruined homes.

The damage from the storm late Tuesday and early Wednesday recalled the aftermath of a tsunami, with survivors left to pick up the pieces as they mourn their loved ones.

Cars were piled on one another like fallen dominoes, uprooted trees, downed power lines and household items all mired in mud that covered streets in dozens of communities in Valencia, a region south of Barcelona on the Mediterranean coast.

An unknown number of people are still missing and more victims could be found.

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