Woman trapped in car for days with dead sister-in-law rescued alive after floods

People who need to help with searches for missing relatives or to make arrangements following someone’s death will receive paid leave from work.

Spain’s Ministry of Labour and Social Economy also announced that some people may need to work from home because of the flooding.

It said other exemptions include for those who are unable to go to work due to the loss of their home or belongings.

In a statement on Telegram, it said: ‘The Ministry of Labour will ensure that no worker suffers reprisals or is harmed.’

A woman trapped in a car underwater for three days beside her dead sister-in-law has been rescued alive following the devastating floods in Valencia.

She was found after aid workers heard her cries for help after they checked vehicles in the town of Benetusser.

This is where most of the 211 victims of the flooding are known to have died so far.

She had been trapped by other cars piled on top of hers.

Firefighters were working with a volunteer tractor driver to pull cars out of the water before they were checked for occupants.

Approximately 1,800 businesses have been destroyed in the Valencia region as a result of flooding.

The Valencia Chamber of Commerce reported that another 4,500 have suffered damage.

Some locals are still reeling from the horrors of the flooding in Valencia a few days on.

A local business owner told the BBC that, at one point, the fast-rising floodwaters in her building reached her neck and she thought she was going to die.

Amparo Andres said: ‘At least I’m alive, but I’ve lost everything. My business, my home.

‘And the government isn’t doing anything. Only the young people around are helping us.’

Juan Perez, another resident, returned to his home after the floods and said: ‘All my life, my memories…and now overnight, it’s all gone.’

The Spanish Civil Guard has issued an update on X and confirmed underwater teams have joined the search operation to try and find more bodies.

They have been tasked with searching the interior of flooded buildings and garages.

Mountain rescue teams and drones are also being used to search flood-affected buildings.

Sniffer dogs have been drafted in to support the search and the civil guard is also collaborating with groups, including food banks in Chiva, to help residents affected.

Pictures coming in from Valencia show both volunteers and firefighters doing their best to clean up after days of torrential rain and flooding.

It comes as the Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced Spain’s largest peacetime disaster recovery operation.

Pictures from the ground show streets filled with mud and abandoned cars.

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has issued an update on the death toll and has confirmed 211 people have now died as a result of the floods.

He told Spanish radio station Cadena SER: ‘Over the last 48 hours, state security forces and the armed forces have inspected thousands of garages, homes, riverbeds and roads and have located and removed 211 fatalities.’

4,800 people have been rescued so far.

The Prime Minister of Spain Pedro Sanchez has been speaking to the nation and has announced another 5,000 soldiers will be deployed – 4,000 today and 1,000 tomorrow morning – on top of the at least 2,000 already on the ground.

He told Spanish radio station Cadena SER: ‘We are talking about the largest deployment of state security forces and bodies of the armed forces that has ever been made in our country in times of peace.’

To help a Spanish navy ship is also expected to be deployed.

The Valencia Marathon is an annual marathon road running event held in Valencia and this year it is expected to take place on December 1, 2024.

While the marathon has not been officially cancelled yet, with the flooding it is not yet known whether it will definitely be able to run.

The marathon has been running since 1981 and has never been cancelled before even during the coronavirus pandemic.

In 2020, a modified version of the Valencia Half Marathon course, with marathon runners running two laps was instead completed.

King Charles has written a letter to King Felipe of Spain and offered his condolences for the ‘tragic loss of so many lives’.

Charles said in the letter: ‘My wife and I were utterly heartbroken to learn of the destruction and devastation following the catastrophic flooding in southern and eastern Spain.

‘So many in the United Kingdom have strong, personal ties to Spain, and our nations are bound by so much that we have in common.’

He said his and Camilla’s ‘deepest possible sympathy are with all those who have lost loved ones and livelihoods this terrible week’.

42 litres of rain per square metre fell in just 10 minutes in Turis, Spain, at the height of the storm, it has been revealed.

It was part of a record 179.2 litres per square metre (7.1 inches), the State Meteorological Agency confirmed.

The record was last set in 2018: 159 litres in Vinaros.

Turis experienced 618 litres per square metre – or 24 inches (two foot) of rain on Tuesday.

The government has advised people travelling to Spain to pay close attention to weather warnings wherever they are, in the latest update on October 30.

At the moment, people have not been instructed to cancel their trips to Spain and they will unlikely be advised to do so.

The update says: ‘Severe weather and flooding is affecting many areas of Southern and Eastern Spain, particularly the Valencia region and Castilla La Mancha. Journeys may be affected.

‘Check the latest weather warnings from Spain’s meteorological office before you travel and follow instructions from local authorities.’

Travel advice for the rest of the country has remained unchanged.

This morning volunteers have gathered at Valencia’s the City of Arts and Sciences, ready to walk to the worst parts of the city to try and help.

Volunteers are departing in buses and are bringing along food and water with them.

The number of people who have now registered to volunteer has exceeded 100,000, according to the Valencian Community Volunteer Platform.

Heavy rain and storms continue to batter parts of Spain as the country comes to grips with the impact of the flooding.

Today, an orange alert has been issued to areas in the north west of Spain including Tarragona, Tarragona’s southern coast, Northern coast of Castellon and Northern interior of Castellon.

In these areas, there is the risk of storms accompanied by hail, as well as the risk of 40mm of rain in the space of one hour and 100mm of rain in the space of 12 hours.

Major cities like Barcelona have been hit with a yellow warning which means the risk of 20mm of rain in the space of just one hour and 60mm in 12 hours as well as high winds.

Other areas in the north west of Spain with a yellow warning include the northern coast of Valencia, Southern coast of Castellon and Tarragona Central Depression.

Areas in the south east of the country have also received a yellow warning including Guadix and Baza and Nevada and Alpujarras.

Spain has now deployed more than 1,000 troops to help with rescue efforts since the flooding started as people start to come to terms with the impact of the floods.

Many crews have also been cut off from towns by flooded roads and downed communication and power lines.

To help with the rescue efforts, the European Union’s chief, Ursula von der Leyen, said it had activated its Copernicus satellite system to help co-ordinate Spanish rescue teams.

But many survivors say that they have been left to defend themselves and efforts to help them have been missed.

Many residents instead say they have been relying on local volunteers to help them get out of the flood water.

Spanish actor Antonio Banderas has joined calls for Spain’s government to do more to help people affected by floods that have killed at least 205 people.

In a message on X, he said: ‘Why are army helicopters not sent to the Valencian villages affected by the DANA with food, water and medicine?

‘Why not sappers to open roads, mobile communication centres, field hospitals? Why are our taxes and resources not used better? Why?’

The actor has made a name for himself internationally, with an Oscar nomination for Pain and Glory, and a Golden Globe nomination for The Mask of Zorro.

Questions have been raised about the alleged slow reaction of Valencia’s government before the floods on Tuesday.

A Spanish government official told POLITICO many were wondering why Valencian leader Carlos Mazón waited until 8pm to issue emergency text alerts to people.

Heavy rains had begun hours earlier.

The initial shock is now giving way to anger, frustration and a wave of solidarity.

Three days after flash floods swept through several towns in Spain and killed at least 205 people, the initial shock was giving way to anger, frustration and a wave of solidarity on Friday.

Spanish emergency authorities raised the death toll to at least 205 victims, 202 of them in Valencia alone.

It’s the highest death toll from flooding in Europe since 1970, when 209 people died in Romania.

Sir Keir Starmer has said that the UK ‘stands with Spain during this difficult time’ after flash floods killed more than 200 people.

The Prime Minister has also been in touch with the prime minister of Spain to convey a message of condolence following this week’s flooding, it is understood.

In a post on X on Friday afternoon, Sir Keir said: ‘My thoughts are with those who have lost their lives, their families and all those affected by the devastation caused by the extreme flooding in Spain.’

It is thought that the Prime Minister has also written to Pedro Sanchez to relay his personal condolences after the flooding, for which the death toll rose.

The UK is also thought to be on standby to offer any support, but at this point it is not thought that any assistance has been requested.

‘The Spanish people remain in the Prime Minister’s thoughts,’ a Number 10 spokeswoman said on Friday.

On Thursday, Foreign Secretary David Lammy said: ‘Our thoughts are with those that have lost their lives, their families and all those affected.’