Almost 2,000 reported missing in Valencia amid Spain flood disaster as frantic families hunt for relatives

There are almost certainly more people who have died because the water washed people away who had got out of their cars."

One survivor told the Telecinco TV channel

We are still waiting for people to come help us,

the TikToker wrote in the caption to her post on Thursday

Nothing can come through, no food, nothing. The only thing that comes are the rescue trucks that can maybe bring a bit of food, but you need to walk 15-20 km (9-12 miles) to buy some bread,

said Rafael Lopez, 59, who lives in a neighbourhood next to Paiporta

It's amazing - thousands of people coming from Valencia, like a big corridor of people helping the victims of this incredible disaster,

he said, as he headed to help

To Paiporta, to help,

answered a group of young men, walking briskly, when asked where they were headed, referring to one of the hardest-hit suburbs of the regional capital, Spain's third-biggest city

The disaster motivated me to come,

she said

There is still a pile of cars in the industrial estate, mountains and mountains of cars,

Amparo Fort, mayor of the town of Chiva, told public radio RNE

Many must be empty, but we are sure others are occupied,

Fort said

I have just requested the incorporation of the army and the available land, sea and air forces to reinforce the logistical tasks and the distribution of aid to the population."

In a post on X Carlos Mazon previously said

This is a disaster. There are a lot of elderly people who don’t have medicine. There are children who don’t have food. We don’t have milk, we don’t have water. We have no access to anything,

a resident of Alfafar, one of the most affected towns in south Valencia, told state television station TVE

The massive amount of sediment poured into the Mediterranean Sea by the rivers in the Valencian Community is clearly visible in this Copernicus Sentinel-3 image.

Copernicus says

The flooding couldn't have been avoided, but if those in charge of notifying us had notified us sooner, there would have been fever deaths and fewer missing people'

The user who shared the clip, who goes by the handle @luuciaseguii on the social platform, wrote in the video

Our priority is to find the victims and the missing so that we can help ease the suffering of their families.”

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez speaking after meeting with officials and emergency responders in Valencia yesterday, explained

Paiporta never floods, we never have this sort of problem. We found many elderly people in the town centre. There were also a lot of people trying to get their cars out of their garages ... it was a terrible trap.”

He told RTVE

The first day, on Wednesday morning, I saw the bodies of two people I knew, it’s terrible,

said Kevin Asensi

There’s no organisation, we need heavy machinery,

Mr Abasolo said

We had to escape with just a bag of our stuff,

she said

I had nowhere to go, they didn’t want anybody to stay in the streets,

she said

It’s very difficult, people you know have died. Everyone who lives on the ground floor has lost their houses and things. It’s going to be a very long time until everything is back to normal,

he said

You see all the people dying, the things being destroyed and you can’t do anything,

he said