A British couple visiting Valencia were stuck inside their car for nearly 10 hours as the floods were devastating the region.
During a yoga retreat in Valencia, Vitalij Farafonov and his wife were instructed by police to divert off of a motorway at around 8pm last night.
Mr Farafonov described the horrific scenes he saw, telling Sky News: “It was mayhem as we counted nine or 10 overturned lorries on a half-mile stretch of the motorway. We’ve never seen anything like it.”
He added that he and his wife were stuck “on a random rural road in between what were beautiful orange groves”.
“We can finally see flashing blue lights so people do know where we are,” Mr Farafonov said. “As I say, we are the lucky ones.”
The couple have four children who are safe from the flooding as they were in Barcelona with relatives. Originally from the Midlands, the family now live in Luxembourg.
Torrential downpours flooded Spanish towns and roads yesterday, dragging cars through the streets and derailing a high-speed train. Almost 300 passengers were on board when the train was derailed near Malaga, but authorities say no one was injured.
Sadly, it is reported that the floods have claimed the lives of at least 51 people so far, including children. This number is expected to rise as some regions are yet to report victims.
The worst-hit areas have advised residents to stay at home and to avoid non-essential travel by local authorities.
Rescuers in dinghies have been searching the floodwaters for potentially trapped residents throughout the night.
Officials have reported a year’s worth of rain falling on Valencia over an eight hour period. Stormy weather is forecast to continue until Thursday, according to the Spains’ weather service.
Other countries in Europe have also seen extreme weather episodes this year, with flash flooding becoming more frequent. Meteorologists believe the warming of the Mediterranean has increased water evaporation which has played a key role in making torrential rainfall worse.
