At least 6 dead as torrential rain floods coastal Spain

An estimated 3,500 people are missing, according to BBC News. Emergency rescue workers saved thousands of people during the storm that slammed into the Mediterranean coastal regions of Valencia, Murcia and eastern Andalusia this week. Local authorities said some towns and cities reported their heaviest rainfall on record. The downpour forced the closure of airports in Almeria and Murcia as well as intercity train lines, major roads and schools.
A fifth victim was found late Friday by police in the village of Redován. News agency Europa Press reported that police said the 58-year-old man was swept away by rushing waters when he got out of his vehicle. A sixth victim was confirmed by authorities on Saturday — a 41-year-old man in the town of Orihuela, where the Segura River overflowed its banks on Friday. One man was killed after getting stuck inside a flooded tunnel, BBC News reports. Reuters reported that another man was found dead in the village of Redovan in Valencia after leaving his home on foot earlier on Friday.  Acting Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez flew over the devastated areas in a helicopter on Saturday. “We deeply lament the news of a new victim in Orihuela,” Sánchez wrote on Twitter. “All my warmth and solidarity for the people affected by the heavy rains. Together, we will deploy all our resources and aid to help the population and return things to normal.” The storms in this area are a yearly metrological phenomenon, but they have been particularly fierce this fall, turning fields into lakes and roads into surging rivers of mud that sweep away everything in their path. The rain let up a bit Saturday after drowning the area for two days. Spain’s weather service decreased the alert for rain from “extreme danger” to “at risk” as the storm moved westward toward the country’s central region.