Volunteers arrive in Paiporta to help with flood clean-up work

Four days have passed since the tsunami-like wave of water tore through Spanish towns and with at least 60 of the 214 confirmed deaths in Paiporta, local media is calling the town ‘ground zero’ of the catastrophic flooding.

As police and emergency workers continue the grim search for bodies, authorities appear overwhelmed by the enormity of the disaster and survivors are relying on the goodwill of volunteers who have rushed in to fill the void and help with clean-up operations.

“I was in the US in Miami with my friends. So I heard the news. Very sad. As I have family in Alicante and a lot of friends here in Valencia, I flew in here to try to help everybody,” said Luis Javier Gonzalez, a volunteer who flew to Paiporta from the United States.

“It’s very sad to see this. There are way more people helping than government personnel. It’s crazy. So sad. Unreal.”

Marta Lozano, another volunteer, came from Valencia.

“I was watching the news at home. And then I started to see the extent of the disaster and so many sad stories. And also people volunteering to help. And then I felt so useless and decided to come and help. Because I can always go back home, take a shower and have a plate with hot food. And these people are here,” she said.

As those clean-up operations continue, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez visited the headquarters of the Military Emergencies Unit (UME) at the Torrejon de Ardoz Air Base near Madrid with the Minister of Defence, Margarita Robles.

Sánchez was able to see first-hand the work the UME has been carrying out since last Tuesday which focuses mainly on tasks such as rescuing people and clearing debris.

Earlier on Saturday, the Prime Minister confirmed that an additional 10,000 troops will be deployed to the hardest-hit eastern province of Valencia, where the damage from the storm resembled that of a tsunami.

The 5,000 soldiers and 5,000 police officers will join the 2,000 soldiers, 2,500 Civil Guard gendarmes, and 1,800 police officers who are already at present in the region.

Appeal for help

Sánchez also asked for support from the European Union to help Spain recover from what he called, “the most serious flooding that our continent has seen so far this century.”

“We are in communication with the European Commission and that we have begun the procedures to request aid from the European Solidarity Fund and the use of other community support resources from the European Union,” he said in a news conference in Madrid.

Rescue teams continue their search for missing people, as officials fear more bodies may be trapped in wrecked vehicles and flooded garages.

Spanish emergency officials said the majority of the victims were in the eastern region of Valencia and warn that more rain is expected in the coming days.