Rescuers look for Valencia flood victims in car parks and garages

Hundreds of civil and military emergency workers are searching shopping centres, garages and underground car parks for more victims of the floods in the Valencia region that have killed at least 214 people, as public anger mounts over the Spanish authorities' handling of the disaster.

- Sam Jones

Yellow and amber weather warnings were in place for parts of Valencia and neighbouring Catalonia yesterday, with people in the affected areas advised to stay off the roads and keep away from the coast and rivers.

Heavy rain hit the Barcelona area yesterday morning, leading the regional government to issue civil protection alerts and cancel all local train services. More than 50 flights due to take off from El Prat airport were cancelled or severely delayed.

Over the weekend, personnel from the armed forces' military emergencies unit (UME) focused their efforts on shopping malls and car parks where people could have been trapped by the floods, which were caused by torrential rain that experts have linked to the climate emergency.