By Thursday night there were still “dozens” of people missing in the Valencia of the southeast Spain48 hours after the unprecedented floods of which 158 people have lost their lives, as announced by government minister Sanchez.

It is the first time that the Spanish authorities have given an estimate, albeit vague, of the number of missing persons.

“We already have 155 dead in the Valencia region, two in Castile-La Mancha and one in Andalusia, that is a total of 158 people. Dozens and dozens of missing people are added to them,” said the Minister of Regional Policy, Angel Victor Torres, in a press conference he gave in Madrid.

Torres said the government had agreed to put “all military means” at the disposal of the Valencian authorities, mainly to distribute aid and open roads so rescuers could reach “every corner” of the flooded zone.

This request was made by the president of the Valencia region, Carlos Mathon.

Torres also announced that 39 people had been arrested and that “against looting and other crimes” the security forces would show zero tolerance.

Biblical scale of the disaster – See satellite images

Satellite images released by the European Space Agency (ESA) show the extent of the impact of heavy rainfall and flash flooding in the Valencia region.

The first photo was taken on October 8th and the second just yesterday.

The images, taken by the US Landsat-8 satellite, “vividly depict the scale of the disaster”, says ESA, and the “dramatic transformation of the landscape”.

Spain floods

Rescue crews, along with residents and the military are working around the clock in an effort to remove tons of mud and find survivors. There are no confirmed numbers of missing at this time. Spain’s transport minister said bodies of people may still be trapped in their vehicles.

In the rural town of Utiel, about 85 km from the city of Valencia, the Magro River overflowed, sending water up to three meters into homes, Reuters news agency reports.

The city’s mayor, Ricardo Gabaldon, said at least six people died in the city of about 12,000, most of whom were elderly or disabled who were unable to climb to safety. In the early hours of Thursday, residents used tractor-drawn water pumps as they began the cleanup, with children helping to sweep sidewalks.

“The priority right now is to find those who are missing in order to ease the anguish of the families who are suffering,” he told reporters. “We will support the search by land, sea and air for as long as it takes to find all the missing people.”

“Please, the storm continues, stay home. Consider all calls from emergency services, their needs, their recommendations. The most important thing is to save as many lives as possible. AEMET issues warnings, I ask that these recommendations be taken into account” concluded Sanchez.

More rain is expected

The weather service is warning of more rain in some flood-hit areas for today.

There are red warnings for further heavy rain in the eastern coastal province of Castellon north of Valencia, where 180mm (7in) could fall. There are also orange warnings further north in Tarragona, with wider yellow warnings across the province of Valencia, Aragon, western Andalusia and Extremadura.

Spain floods