Dozens dead in flash floods in Valencia, Spain, as 1,000 troops join emergency response, officials say

(LONDON) — On the streets of Alfafar on Wednesday, cars and caravans were strewn like toys in the muddy aftermath of the floodwater that had rushed through the Spanish town.

Emergency crews descended on Wednesday on that town and others surrounding Valencia, wading through washed-out neighborhoods, searching homes and looking for missing people following devastating flooding, according to emergency officials.

More than 1,000 troops had been deployed to the province to help with the emergency response, the Military Emergencies Unit, a branch of the Spanish military, said on social media on Wednesday.

The flash floods were caused by heavy rain, which by Wednesday morning had begun “easing off,” according to the country’s meteorological agency

“[B]ut there is still an orange warning in inland Castellón until 2:00 p.m.,” the agency said. “Caution in the northeast of the peninsula and western Andalusia: very heavy showers are possible. Stay informed!”

For some, the flood water arrived quickly and almost without warning.

Kewin Jacek Ryfa Stelmach told ABC News he was out to dinner with his wife on Tuesday in Alfafar when they noticed the water beginning to rise. He said he got up to move his car to a spot near the entrance of the restaurant.

“I saw the water was already entering the restaurant, so my wife and I ran to the car,” he said. “We started to drive not knowing which direction to take.”

As they drove, they became boxed in by other vehicles that had been stopped by the flooding, he said.

“For a moment I thought I was going to get trapped, since there were many cars and no one was moving,” he said. “We managed to cross a tunnel that was still dry. I managed to save myself and save the car. I saw a lot of people who couldn’t move forwards in their cars, others were broken down, and others abandoned them.”

In that town’s shopping district, some people had been trapped in an IKEA store as the surrounding area flooded, according to videos verified by ABC News.

And Ryfa Stelmach’s bother, Oskar, told ABC News his car became trapped in rising waters in the town, forcing him to flee with his partner on foot.

“The water reached our waists,” Oskar said. “We took a lady having an anxiety attack out of her car and headed to Sedavi Bridge.”

They waited until the floodwaters receded at 5 a.m. before walking towards Valencia, he said.

The regional emergency services of Valencia estimated that 62 people were dead in the wake of the flooding that took over the southeast of Spain after Tuesday’s storms. 

ABC News’ Somayeh Malekian contributed to this report.

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