Storms in Spain

Sánchez reassures: “We’ll get through this together”

Volunteers and Spain's fire department clear a road of mud.(Bild: AFP/Jose Jordan)

In Spain, the death toll continues to rise after the severe storms. Head of government Pedro Sánchez now wants to send a further 5,000 emergency services to the flooded areas around the city of Valencia. "Together we will get through this", he tries to reassure.

Previously, there had been criticism of the warning system, of help arriving too late in many places and of mutual recriminations. Sánchez has now called for the discrepancies to be put aside. In order to speed up the recovery and clean-up work, he has announced that 5,000 more soldiers and members of the police force will be sent to the flooded areas.

Many villages are still covered in mud, with cars, furniture and other household goods piled on top of each other in the streets. According to the authorities, the power supply in the Valencia region has largely been restored. In many places, however, there is a lack of food, drinking water, work equipment and functioning telecommunications networks.

Volunteers and Spain's fire department(Bild: AFP/Jose Jordan)

People try to pull a car out of the mud.(Bild: AFP/Manaure Quintero)

Spain's military in the mud(Bild: AFP/Manaure Quintero )

At least 211 people died in the severe storms.(Bild: AFP/Jose Jordan)

Head of government Pedro Sánchez(Bild: AFP/Fernando Calvo)

All-clear on the Balearic Islands
A temporary morgue has been set up at the Valencia exhibition center. This is where the fatalities are taken after the autopsy. However, relatives have to wait until they are called, said a politician from the regional government. She was subsequently accused of a lack of empathy due to the tone of her speech.

Spain's head of government spoke of at least 211 dead, with "dozens of people" still missing. The all-clear was given for the Balearic Islands on Saturday. The second-highest warning level, orange, had previously been in force.