The European Parliament lowered the Spanish and EU flags in front of its venues in Strasbourg and Brussels on Thursday, October 31, after deadly floods hit Eastern Spain, killing at least 95 people, Reuters reports.
Local authorities have not disclosed how many people are still unaccounted for after Europe’s deadliest floods in years, but Defense Minister Margarita Robles said late on Wednesday the death toll was likely to rise.
Meteorologists said a year’s worth of rain had fallen in eight hours in parts of Valencia on Tuesday, October 29, causing pile-ups on highways and submerging farmland in a region that produces about two-thirds of the citrus fruit grown in Spain, a leading global exporter of oranges.
It is the worst flood-related disaster in Spain since 1996, when 87 people died near a town in the Pyrenees mountains.
“What we are seeing is devastating,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen during a press conference in Brussels on Wednesday, adding that Europe “is ready to help” Spain.
“We have activated our Copernicus satellite system to help coordinate the rescue teams. And we have already offered to activate our civil protection mechanism,” von der Leyen said.
