A British pensioner has died in Spain after parts of the country’s southwest were rocked by a year’s worth of rain in just one day.
The man, 71, died in hospital after being rescued from his Malaga home, the leader of the Andalusia regional government Juanma Moreno has said.
On social media, Moreno wrote: “He was suffering from hypothermia and died after suffering several cardiac arrests.”
The number of people killed by the extreme flooding now stands at at least 73, according to local authorities.
The number of people killed by the extreme flooding now stands at at least 73
REUTERS
In fellow south-western city Valencia, a year’s worth rain had fallen in just eight hours – devastating roads, bridges and farmland in one of Spain’s key agricultural regions.
Residents in some of the worst-hit places said they had seen people clambering onto the roofs of their cars as brown water surged through the streets, uprooting trees and destroying parts of buildings.
One, petrol station worker Denis Hlavaty who was forced to find shelter on a ledge at his workplace, said: “It’s a river that came through.
“The doors were torn away and I spent the night there, surrounded by water that was 2 metres deep.”
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A year’s worth rain had fallen in just eight hours in Valencia
REUTERS
Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez has promised to rebuild infrastructure that had been destroyed, saying in a televised address: “For those who at this moment are still looking for their loved ones, the whole of Spain weeps with you.”
More to follow…