Spanish government criticized for flooding casualties exceeding 200 deaths

[Anchor]

The worst flooding has hit Spain.

A month's worth of rain fell in just one day.

More than 200 people have lost their lives.

As rivers and streams overflowed, those in their cars on the way home were caught in the disaster.

Reporter Ahn Da-young has the details.

[Report]

Dozens of vehicles swept away by the heavy rain are tangled on the railway tracks.

In residential areas, cars are buried under fallen trees and piles of mud, much like a war zone.

This is the devastating aftermath in eastern and southern Spain hit by sudden heavy rain on the 29th of October.

The death toll from this flooding has now exceeded 200.

Most of the victims were swept away by suddenly swollen rivers while they were in their cars on their way home.

Search operations for the missing are ongoing, and the number of victims may rise further.

[Isabel Santiago/Resident: "There have been so many losses, which could have been avoided. There must be a lot of people in that tunnel because they haven't had time to get out."]

Local residents criticize the incompetence and slow response of the Spanish government, claiming to have led to this disaster.

They argue that the emergency disaster alert was sent only after the heavy rain began, making it too late for the people to escape.

In Valencia, the region most affected, it has been pointed out that rapid urbanization has led to insufficient drainage facilities, exacerbating the damage.

[Rosa Castro/Resident: "They(authorities) do not put in any resources and the only thing they do is when there is a cold snap, they leave us abandoned and this is what happens.."]

This flooding in Spain is expected to be recorded as the deadliest since the flood in October 1973, which took 300 lives.

Climate experts analyze that this incident demonstrates how climate change is affecting the intensity of rainfall and that the pace of these changes is very rapid.

Reporting from Paris, this is KBS News Ahn Da-young.