Death toll from floods passes 150 as Spain begins three days of mourning

The toll makes the disaster the deadliest episode of flooding in Spain's modern history.

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The Castilla-La Mancha and Andalucia regions. Authorities have not disclosed how many people are still unaccounted for, but the defence minister, Margarita Robles, said earlier that the death toll was expected to rise given that some areas remained inaccessible to rescuers.

Flags flew at half-mast on government buildings and a minute of silence was observed nationwide.

The flash floods battered Valencia's infrastructure, sweeping away bridges, roads and railway tracks and submerging farmland.

Survivors described walls of rushing water that turned narrow streets into death traps and spawned torrents that poured into the ground floors and garages of houses and apartment blocks.