Spain’s prime minister has ordered 5,000 more troops and 5,000 police officers and civil guards to the Valencia region as residents criticise local authorities over their response to catastrophic flooding.
Pedro Sánchez said 211 people have been confirmed dead, with the toll expected to rise further.
Heavy rains that began on Monday caused floods that destroyed bridges and covered towns with mud, cutting off communities and leaving them without water, food or electricity.
Sánchez said the deployment was Spain’s largest in peacetime, in response to one of the worst floods in Europe this century.
The prime minister said he was aware “the response that is being given is not enough” and acknowledged “severe problems and shortages”.
He said there are still “desperate people searching for their relatives. People who cannot access their homes. Homes destroyed and buried by mud. I know we have to do better.”
