The death toll from floods in Spain has risen to 155

VALENCIA: The death toll from floods in Valencia, Spain, rose to 155 as rescue teams on Thursday discovered the bodies of eight people trapped in a garage after devastating flash floods hit eastern Spain.

Local authorities have not revealed how many people are still unaccounted for after Europe’s deadliest flooding in years, and Defense Minister Margarita Robles said the country’s final death toll could be much higher.

Valencia Mayor Maria Jose Catala told reporters that a local policeman was among the eight bodies drowned in a garage in the suburb of La Torre. She added that the body of a 45-year-old woman was found in her house in the same area.

Meteorologists say parts of Valencia received their annual rainfall in eight hours on Tuesday.

Floods have devastated Valencia’s infrastructure, uprooting bridges, roads and railways and inundating farmland in a region that produces about two-thirds of the citrus fruit grown in Spain, the world’s leading exporter of oranges.

On Thursday, thousands of people carrying bags or pushing shopping carts could be seen crossing the pedestrian bridge over the Turia River from La Torre into central Valencia to stock up on essentials such as toilet paper and water.

Maribel Albalat, mayor of the nearby town of Paiporta, said she never received a warning of imminent flood danger.

She said 62 people died in her city.

“We found a lot of elderly people in their homes and people who went to get their cars. It was a trap,” she said TVE.

Transport Minister Oscar Puente said about 80 km (50 miles) of roads in the eastern region were severely damaged or impassable. Many of them were blocked by abandoned cars.

“Unfortunately, there are dead bodies in some of the vehicles,” Puente told reporters, adding that it would take two to three weeks to restore the high-speed rail connection between Valencia and Madrid.

Visiting an emergency coordination center near Valencia, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez urged people to stay at home because of the threat of more stormy weather.

In the hard-hit rural town of Utiel, about 85 km (53 mi) inland, the Magro River burst its banks, pouring up to 3 m (9.8 ft) of water into mostly single-story homes.

Utiel Mayor Ricardo Gabaldon said at least six people died in the city of about 12,000 people, most of them elderly or disabled people who were unable to get to safety.

Residents who began cleaning up Thursday morning used water pumps carried by tractors, and children helped sweep the sidewalks.

Broken household appliances and furniture piled up in the middle of the roads, and elderly people struggled to navigate the slippery, mud-covered streets.