The shattered lives of Paiporta at the epicenter of Spain's floods
The pictures of the smiling toddlers on the wall somehow survived. Most everything else in the daycare — the cradles, the highchairs, the toys — was ruined when a crushing wall of water swept through Paiporta, turning the Valencia municipality of 30,000 into the likely epicenter of Spain's deadliest natural disaster in living memory. | Authorities say at least 62 people died in Paiporta, of the 211 confirmed deaths from flash floods in Spain on Tuesday and Wednesday. The majority of those deaths happened in the eastern region of Valencia, and local media have labeled Paiporta the “ground zero” of the floods. ■ Four days have passed since the tsunami-like floods swept through the southern outskirts of Valencia city, covering many communities with sticky, thick mud. The clean-up task ahead remains gargantuan, and the hunt for bodies continues. ■ Many streets in Paiporta remain impassable to all vehicles but bulldozers, stacked as they are with piles of sodden furniture and household items and countless wrecked cars. ■ Every foot is caked with mud. Some people wield poles to steady their steps as if walking these streets is a hike through a marsh.
⚡ Aemet establece aviso rojo en el litoral sur de Valencia por lluvias de 90 l/m2 en 1 hora (RTVE)
■ Gritos de "asesinos" y lanzamiento de barro a la comitiva real, Sánchez y Mazón en su visita a Paiporta (RTVE)
■ 'Get out,' Spain's king told by protesters flinging mud at him after devastating flooding (CBC)
■ Spain orders largest peacetime military deployment over flood crisis (Al Mayadeen)
■ Death toll from Spanish floods climbs to 205 as shock turns to anger and frustration (Castanet)
■ Death toll from Spain floods passes 200 as rescue teams search for missing (11/02/24)