"Death Toll May Surge"... Search Resumes in Flooded Underground Parking Lot in Spain

Sudden Heavy Rain in Southeastern Spain on the 29th Last Month
Multiple Deaths Found in Cars on Commute Home
"This Place Is a Cemetery"... Drainage Work in Parking Lot

Sudden heavy rain in southeastern Spain has caused numerous casualties, and concerns are rising over a sharp increase in deaths during the drainage process of the flooded underground parking lot of a large shopping mall. On the 4th (local time), APTN reported that "the Aldaia city rescue team in Valencia, Spain, began pumping water out to search the underground parking lot of the Bonaire Shopping Center." Videos of the operation posted on YouTube and social media show muddy water endlessly pouring out from a blue drainage pump installed at the parking lot entrance.

Rescue workers are searching for bodies at the entrance of an underground parking lot of a shopping center on the outskirts of Valencia, Spain.
[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

According to eyewitnesses, water in the underground parking lot, which has a capacity of 5,800 spaces, rose up to 3 meters high. Divers who accessed the parking lot on the 1st found several bodies but had to stop the search due to poor visibility caused by muddy water. According to rescue authorities, no additional deaths were found in the shopping center's underground parking lot as of 5 p.m. that day.

This shopping center is one of the largest malls in Valencia and had a significant flow of people. Therefore, rescue authorities expect that more bodies of people who could not escape due to flooding will be found during the search of the underground parking lot. Local officials told the media, "This place is like a cemetery." Oscar Puente, Spain's Minister of Transport, also said on social media, "There are still flooded floors, garages, basements, and underground parking lots remaining," adding, "Deaths may be discovered in such spaces." However, he cut off speculation by saying, "We do not yet know what will be found here, so those talking about numbers are merely guessing."

The area near the Ricardo Tormo Valencia Circuit track is flooded.
[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

Since the sudden heavy rain hit southeastern Spain on the 29th of last month, the death toll reached 217 by the 3rd. The number of missing persons is estimated to be in the dozens. Local residents criticize the authorities for delayed and incompetent initial responses, which they say worsened the scale of the damage.

The Spanish Meteorological Agency raised the heavy rain warning for the Valencia region to the highest red level around 9:41 a.m. on the day. This level indicates a high likelihood of significant disruption to daily activities and recommends avoiding travel if possible. Later, at 1:14 p.m., Carlos Maz?n, President of the Valencia region, posted on social media that the intensity of the heavy rain was expected to weaken somewhat around 6 p.m. However, the situation rapidly deteriorated from 4:30 p.m., and the regional government convened a disaster safety meeting at 5 p.m. Emergency disaster alert messages were sent to local residents at 8:12 p.m., by which time the situation had already become uncontrollable.

Meanwhile, an enormous amount of rain caused nearby rivers and streams to flood rapidly, and citizens stuck in traffic jams on their way home had no way to escape and became victims. As a result, many of the deceased were found inside their cars. Cardona Teruel, a resident of Paiporta city where more than 60 deaths occurred, expressed frustration to local media, saying, "What good is a warning sent only after the worst situation has occurred?"