It was Spain’s deadliest flash flood in living memory. In a matter of minutes, flash floods caused by heavy downpours swept everything away. Hundreds died. Thousands more are still missing. As muddy water filled ground floor flats and buildings, people were trapped. Alerts meant to warn residents arrived hours too late.
The scale of the material damage is equally shocking: thousands of homes and businesses, have been destroyed, as well as food, clothing and other essential goods, leaving many families without their belongings and in a situation of extreme vulnerability. No one knows when local schools can reopen.
In this report, teams from 3Cat’s 30 minutes programme travelled to the hardest hit areas to speak to the people affected. They captured the human dimension of this tragedy and document exclusively the visible consequences of this catastrophe-