Spain's severe flooding leaves more than 200 dead

Heavy flooding has caused chaos and despair in southeastern Spain, including here, in the municipality of Alora. In the Valencia region alone, hundreds of people have lost their lives, and dozens are still missing.

The regions of Andalusia, Murcia and Valencia, which are popular with tourists and border the Mediterranean, are particularly affected. In some areas, residents were trapped in their homes and made emergency calls on social media, the "El Pais" newspaper reported.

On Tuesday, rescue workers were seen helping flood victims in the province of Albacete, amid the risk of more flooding. A severe weather warning was in place for large parts of the country for most of the week.

Some areas received more rain in a single day than in a whole month, according to Spanish media reports. Roads turned into raging rivers, dozens of cars were swept away by the masses of water and in some cases, as here in Valencia, were pushed together into heaps of rubble.

The fire department had to help people get out of their cars trapped in the water. Schools and parks in Valencia were closed for most of the week, and train services in the region were also suspended. Valencia regional leader Carlos Mazon described it as an "unprecedented situation."

Parts of the province also saw power cuts, and telephone lines were also down at times. The heavy rain was accompanied by hail and strong gusts of wind, according to the weather service Aemet. "The hailstones were the size of golf balls," farmer Mercedes Gonzalez told "El Pais" newspaper. "It seemed like the end of the world."

Stunned, a man takes in the scene of a flooded street in front of his store in Llombai, Andalusia. Passengers on a high-speed train that derailed in Andalusia had a stroke of luck: none of the 276 passengers were injured. Researchers warn that extreme weather events such as heat waves, storms and heavy rainfall are being exacerbated by climate change.