Flash Flood Kills 63 People In Spain’s Worst Deluge In 30 Years

Flash floods in Spain killed at least 63 people in the country’s worst deluge in 30 years, authorities said Wednesday.

Emergency services in Valencia’s eastern area confirmed the staggering death toll, which it noted was only a preliminary report, NBC News reported.

Heavy rains ravaged towns in Spain, taking cars away and causing problems with public transit, according to the outlet. Authorities urged citizens to avoid travel if possible and remain home.

Streets were swallowed by floodwaters as emergency services conducted rescue missions, videos show. One woman and her pets were airlifted from her damaged home amid floodwaters.

Spain deployed over 1,000 soldiers from its emergency response formations to address the devastation, NBC News reported. (RELATED: Philadelphia Breaks 150-Year-Old Weather Record)

“For those who at this moment are still looking for their loved ones, the whole of Spain weeps with you,” Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez told citizens in a live address.

“To the villages and cities destroyed by this tragedy, I say the same: Together, we will rebuild your streets, your squares, your bridges,” he added.

Certain regions records almost eight inches of rainfall, according to the outlet. AMET, the country’s state weather agency, placed the city of Valencia under red alert.

Over 19 inches of rain — equivalent to what would be expected in an average year — was recorded in the town of Chiva, located close to Valencia, over a span of eight hours on Tuesday, the outlet reported.

“We were trapped like rats. Cars and trash containers were flowing down the streets. The water was rising to three meters,” Mayor Ricardo Gabaldón of Utiel, a town in the vicinity of Valencia, said. “Yesterday was the worst day of my life.”

Flooding in a town near the Pyrenees mountains in 1996 resulted in 87 deaths, which was the last time a greater number of people died in such an incident, NBC News noted.