Torrential rainstorms causing deadly flash floods hit southern and eastern parts of Spain in regions including the Costa del Sol where the city of Malaga is located, and Valencia in the east.
The storms concentrated over the Magro, Turia and the Poyo river basins, unleashed a deluge of muddy water that turned village streets into rivers, destroyed homes and swept away bridges, railway tracks and cars catching people unaware as they went on with their daily lives on Tuesday evening 29th October and early Wednesday morning 30th October.
At least 205 people have died, an unknown number of people remain missing, while thousands of others are without electricity or phone service. The majority of those killed were in the coastal region of Valencia, where it is reported that nearly a year's worth of rain had fallen in just eight hours, deaths were also reported in the Castilla-La Mancha region and in Andalucía's Málaga province.
The intense rain was attributed to a phenomenon known as the gota fría, or "cold drop", which occurs when cold air moves over the warm waters of the Mediterranean Sea. This creates atmospheric instability as the warm, moist air rising rapidly to form towering, dense clouds capable of dumping heavy rain.
Thousands of troops have been deployed to help boost the ongoing rescue and emergency service efforts.
