Photos show damage caused by Valencia floods as at least 90 dead

At least 90 people have been killed in the deadliest flooding to hit Spain for three decades after torrential rain battered Valencia on Tuesday, leaving some areas impossible to reach and cars piled high in the streets.

After rescuers used dinghies throughout the night to scour floodwaters, emergency services and residents in eastern region of Valencia were dealing with the aftermath on Wednesday, after a year's rain fell in eight hours. Emergency services in the region urged citizens to avoid any kind of road travel and to follow further updates from official sources.

Three days of mourning have been declared in the country by the Spanish government, as Spain gets to grips with its worst flooding disaster for nearly 30 years. It is the deadliest flood-related disaster in Spain since 1996, when 87 people died near a town in the Pyrenees mountains.

Trains to the cities of Madrid and Barcelona were earlier canceled due to the flooding, and schools and other essential services were suspended in the worst-hit areas. Footage shared on social media showed firefighters rescuing trapped drivers amid heavy rain in the town of Alzira and cars stranded in flooded streets.

Carlos Mazon, the regional leader of Valencia, told a press conference some people remained isolated in inaccessible locations. "If (emergency services) have not arrived, it's not due to a lack of means or predisposition, but a problem of access," Mazon said, adding that reaching certain areas was "absolutely impossible."

The death toll appeared to be the worst in Europe from flooding since 2021 when almost 200 people died, mainly in Germany. Scientists say extreme weather events in the region are becoming more frequent due to climate change. Meteorologists think the warming of the Mediterranean, which increases water evaporation, plays a key role in making torrential rains more severe.