Death toll in Spanish floods rises to 205 as rescue efforts continue

Madrid, Nov 1 The death toll from the flash floods devastating parts of east and southern Spain rose to 205 on Friday, according to the Centre of Coordinated and Integrated Operations in the Valencian region.

Since Thursday, 50 additional fatalities have now been confirmed, bringing the total tally to 202 in the Valencian region. Three more deaths were recorded in neighboring Castilla-La Mancha and the southern region of Andalusia.

The Valencian regional government has announced that the Valencia Congress Centre would be used as a temporary mortuary to accommodate the victims' bodies.

Emergency services are continuing search and rescue operations, with more fatalities expected to be confirmed in the coming hours.

Spain's Minister of Defence Margarita Robles confirmed on Friday that another 500 members of the armed forces are being deployed to assist in the affected regions, Xinhua news agency reported.

The flood struck suddenly on Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning, bringing some areas over a year's worth of rainfall within four to five hours.

Spain's Ministry of Transport and Sustainability has announced over 25 million euros (27.18 million US dollars) of emergency funds for immediate repairs on the most severely impacted roads.

Source: IANS