A week after Spain's floods, families hold onto hope loved ones are not among dead

SEDAVI, Spain -- Francisco Murgui went retired to effort to salvage his motorbike erstwhile nan h2o started to rise.

He ne'er came back.

One week aft catastrophic flooding devasted eastbound Spain, María Murgui still holds retired dream that her begetter is live and among nan chartless number of nan missing.

“He was for illustration galore group successful municipality who went retired to get their car aliases motorbike to safety,” nan 27-year-old told The Associated Press. “The flash flood caught him outside, and he had to cling to a character successful bid to flight drowning. He called america to show america he was fine, that we shouldn’t worry.”

But erstwhile María group retired into nan streets of Sedaví to effort to rescue him from nan water washing distant everything successful its path, he was obscurity to beryllium found.

“He held up until 1 successful nan morning,” she said. “By 2, I went extracurricular pinch a neighbour and a statement to effort to find him. But we couldn’t find him. And since then, we haven’t heard thing astir him.”

At slightest 218 person been confirmed dormant aft a deluge caused by dense rains precocious connected Oct. 29 and nan adjacent greeting swamped full communities, mostly successful Spain's Valencia region. Most group were caught disconnected guard. Regional authorities person been heavily criticized for having issued alerts to mobile phones immoderate 2 hours aft nan disaster had started.

Authorities person yet to immoderate springiness an estimate of nan missing. Spanish authorities broadcaster RTVE shows a dependable watercourse of appeals by group searching for family members.

María Murgui herself has posted a missing person’s connection connected societal media pinch a photograph of her father, a 57-year-old retiree.

“This is for illustration riding a rollercoaster. Sometimes I consciousness very bad and sometimes I consciousness better. I effort to enactment positive,” she said. “This genuinely is madness. We don’t cognize what other to do. Neither does anybody other successful town.”

While galore hunt for their loved ones, nan gargantuan betterment efforts successful Sedaví and dozens of different communities slow moved forward.

The cardinal authorities approved a 10.6-billion-euro alleviation package for 78 communities connected Tuesday. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez compared it to nan measures taken during nan COVID-19 pandemic.

The package includes nonstop payments of 20,000 euros to 60,000 euros to owners of damaged homes, and financial assistance for businesses and municipal governments.

“We person a batch of activity near to do, and we cognize it,” Sánchez said.

Sánchez said he will inquire nan European Union to thief salary for nan relief, saying “it is clip for nan European Union to help.”

The floods person near down post-apocalyptic scenes.

In municipality aft town, streets are still covered pinch heavy brownish mud and mounds of ruined belongings, clumps of rotting vegetation and wrecked vehicles. A stench arises from nan muck.

In galore places, group still look shortages of basal goods, and lines shape astatine impromptu emergency kitchens and stands handing retired food. Water is moving again but authorities opportunity it is not fresh for drinking.

The crushed floors of thousands of homes person been ruined. It is feared that wrong immoderate of nan vehicles that were washed distant aliases trapped successful underground garages location could beryllium bodies waiting to beryllium recovered.

Thousands of soldiers are moving pinch firefighters and constabulary reinforcements successful nan immense emergency response. Officers and troops are searching successful destroyed homes, and successful nan countless cars strewn crossed highways and streets aliases lodged successful nan mud successful canals and gorges.

Authorities are worried astir different wellness problems successful nan aftermath of nan deadliest earthy disaster successful Spain's caller history. They person urged group to get tetanus shots, to dainty immoderate wounds to forestall infections and to cleanable nan mud from their skin. Many group deterioration look masks.

Thousands of volunteers are helping out, but vexation complete nan situation guidance boiled complete connected Sunday erstwhile a crowd successful hard-hit Paiporta hurled mud and different objects astatine Spain’s royals, Sánchez and location officials erstwhile they made their first sojourn to nan epicenter of nan flood damage.

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Wilson reported from Barcelona, Spain.