At the height of the emergency yesterday morning, authorities ordered about 800,000 people to stay indoors.
Deputy Mayor of the Olvia municipality in Valencia, Salvador Llopis, said emergency crews were working to free trapped residents, with elderly residents particularly vulnerable.
“They have to stay on top of tables and furniture to avoid getting wet,” he said, telling state broadcaster TVE that water levels inside homes were reaching waist height.
In Els Poblets, northeast of Alicante, floodwaters had piled cars and vans on top of one another, while residents tried to salvage belongings from damaged properties.
