Spain deploys largest armed force in peacetime

In a televised press conference on November 2, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez confirmed that the historic floods had claimed at least 211 lives. The number of victims is likely to continue to rise as many people are still missing and the exact number is still unknown as the communication system remains severely damaged.

Mr Sanchez said the government had deployed an additional 5,000 soldiers and police officers to assist rescue workers in searching for missing people and assisting people in dealing with the aftermath of the floods, in addition to the 2,500 personnel already deployed. He stressed that this was the largest deployment of armed forces in Spain in peacetime. He pledged that the Spanish government would mobilize all necessary resources to support the disaster relief work.

The Valencia region in eastern Spain was the hardest hit by the floods. Thousands of homes were flooded, infrastructure was destroyed and transport was paralyzed. Locals faced difficulties due to lack of clean water, electricity and food. The priority of the Spanish government is to restore order and distribute relief goods to the areas severely affected by the floods,...

In difficult circumstances, the Spanish people have shown great solidarity. Thousands of volunteers have come to the affected areas to help those in need. The Valencia Center for Arts and Sciences has been transformed into a coordination center for relief efforts.

Climate change is one of the main causes of extreme weather events such as the floods, which are the worst natural disaster in Europe since 1967, when at least 500 people died in floods in Portugal.