The full scale of the devastation by flash flooding in eastern Spain which has claimed the lives of at least 140 people including a British man has been revealed in dramatic aerial footage.
The flooding swept away cars, turned village streets into rivers and disrupted rail lines and major roads in the worst natural disaster to hit the nation in recent memory.
The 71-year-old Briton died hours after being rescued from his home in the outskirts of Alhaurin de la Torre, Malaga.
He died in hospital after suffering hypothermia and cardiac arrests, said Juanma Moreno, the president of the Andalusian government.
Footage from a Spanish police drone has captured the full scale of the horror. Survivors were seen wading through thick mud past the wreckage of cars and buildings as rescuers struggled to reach them.
At least 62 people are known to have died in the Valencia area alone.
More than 1,000 military personnel are working on the rescue operation. Infrastructure including bridges, railways and motorways have been destroyed.
Spain's Defence Minister, Margarita Robles, said the number of missing in floods is “the big unknown at the moment” and added: “I'm not optimistic” on whether the death toll would rise.
Rescue workers are using sniffer dogs on the ground while helicopters and drones are working on the mission from above.
Rainstorms on Tuesday caused flooding in a wide swathe of southern and eastern Spain, stretching from Malaga to Valencia.
Floods of mud-coloured water tumbled vehicles down streets at high speeds wreaking havoc across communities.
Police and rescue services used helicopters to lift people from their homes and rubber boats to reach drivers trapped on the roofs of cars.
More than 1,000 members of the Military Emergencies Unit UME, a branch of the Spanish Armed Forces, were mobilised yesterday.
A year's worth of rain fell in just eight hours in the region's towns and rural communities, some of which can now only be reached by helicopter.
The tragedy is the worst natural disaster in the country for decades, with the Civil Guard forced to prevent looting while also carrying out vital rescue operations.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said dozens of towns had been flooded.
“For those who are looking for their loved ones, all of Spain feels your pain,” Mr Sanchez said in a televised address.
“Our priority is to help you. We are putting all the resources necessary so that we can recover from this tragedy.”
Karen Loftus, 62, from Dorset, said she and her husband are lucky to be alive after they made the potentially life-saving decision to abandon their car.
The couple were travelling south on the AP-7 motorway to their home in Alicante on Tuesday evening when they were hit by a rain storm.
Mrs Loftus, who is the chief executive of UK-based charity Community Action Network, said the next thing they saw was a bridge in front of them being swept away.
She told Sky News that within ten minutes of being stationary, “the water had risen up and started to come into the car”.
The pressure meant they were unable to open the vehicle's doors so they decided to escape through the windows.
“Just after we got out of the car, another car floated on top of our car,” Mrs Loftus said, adding that the water levels had already reached their chests. The couple eventually managed to find refuge in a lorry.
