The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE) from Bucharest informed on Sunday evening that four Romanian citizens, out of the 16 reported previously, are still missing following the floods in Spain.
The other Romanian citizens, about whom initially there was no information, are safe. The Spanish authorities have not confirmed, until now, the information that appeared in the public space regarding the death of some Romanian citizens, states the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Meanwhile, the death toll in Spain’s floods has reached 217 people.
The Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE) announced that four Romanian nationals remain missing after the severe floods in Spain, with other previously unaccounted individuals now confirmed safe. The MAE, via the Romanian Embassy in Madrid and the Consulate in Castellón de la Plana, is currently verifying information concerning the missing citizens. Diplomatic representatives maintain close contact with Spanish authorities regarding Romanians affected by recent weather events.
Mobile consular teams from the Castellón Consulate continue to assist family members who reported missing persons and are prepared to provide further support. Throughout today, the Embassy in Madrid and the Castellón Consulate have also investigated reports of Romanian fatalities but have yet to receive official confirmation from Spanish authorities.
For consular assistance, Romanians can contact the Castellón Consulate via phone: +34 964.203.331, +34 964.216.008, +34 964.217.836, +34 964.203.234, +34 964.216.172, +34.964.212.446. Calls are routed to the Romanian Citizen Contact and Support Center (CCSCRS) for round-the-clock support. For urgent assistance, an emergency contact line is also available at +34 677 842 467.
New Alerts
The Valencian regional government has sent a new Es-Alert warning to mobile phones announcing heavy rain and a red alert (highest level) on the south coast of Valencia province. The message states that after receiving the alert from AEMET, it is reported that there will be “locally heavy rain without exceptional persistence” on the southern coast of the province. “Stay vigilant. Follow the recommendations,” the authorities request in the message.
The City Hall of Catarroja, in turn, asks the residents to take shelter in the apartments located on the floors of the buildings, due to the forecasted heavy rainfall. Catarroja City Council sent a message to its residents via the X network to warn them that “heavy” rain is expected today. It has already started to rain in the city. The council asked people living on the ground floor to take shelter on the upper floors “as the sewage system is collapsed due to mud” from the floods and deluge of the past days”. as a precaution, we ask the public to stay indoors,” the message reads.
The death toll changes again
The toll of the worst floods in the country’s modern history rose on Sunday to 217 deaths – almost all deaths were recorded in the Valencia region, with more than 60 of them in Paiporta alone.
Dozens of people are still missing, while about 3,000 households were still without electricity, officials said. Several thousand more soldiers and police joined disaster response operations this weekend in the largest peacetime operation of its kind in Spain.
Floods and waves of mud swallowed streets and the lower floors of buildings and swept away cars and pieces of masonry. The tragedy is already the worst flood disaster in a single country in Europe since 1967, when at least 500 people died in Portugal.
Scientists say that extreme weather events are becoming more frequent in Europe and other regions due to climate change. According to meteorologists, the warming of the Mediterranean, which amplifies the evaporation of water, plays a key role in the intensification of torrential rains.
The king and queen of Spain, as well as the prime minister, booed and attacked by victims
Hundreds of residents of a suburb of Valencia, badly affected by the recent deadly floods, protested on Sunday during a visit by King Felipe VI of of Spain and Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, some of those present throwing mud at the officials, reports Reuters.
Chanting “Criminals, criminals!”, those present expressed their pent-up anger at the warnings issued about the dangers of Tuesday’s storm, considered by residents to be late, but also at the subsequent reaction of the emergency services after the disaster struck.
“It was known and nobody did anything to avoid it,” one young man told the king, who insisted on staying to talk to the people despite the protests as the prime minister retreated.
At one point, during a visit to the stricken suburb of Paiporta, King Felipe supported a man who cried on his shoulder.
We must “understand the anger and frustration” of people affected by the floods that have devastated the Valencia region, Spain’s King Felipe VI said in a video posted on social media late Sunday. The sovereign said that the people must “be given hope and be given guarantees that the state in all its fullness is present”, said Felipe.
The central government declared that issuing alerts to the population is the responsibility of the regional authorities. Authorities in Valencia said they acted as best they could based on the information they had. Sanchez said on Saturday that any possible negligence would be investigated later.
In his turn, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Sunday that he understood the “fear and suffering” of the victims of the floods earlier this week, but condemned “any form of violence” after the incidents that marked his and King Felipe’s visit to one of the suburbs of Valencia, when some of those present threw mud at the officials.
More details here.