The “apocalyptic” scenes after devastating floods in Spain have been laid bare by a clean up volunteer’s street level photographs, with the horrors of finding bodies still not over yet.
Expat Benen Wann, originally from Sligo in Ireland, offered to help in the clean up effort in Valencia when the city – like many parts of the south of Spain – was battered by torrential rain. The 27-year-old was shocked by what he saw when the floodwaters subsided, leaving a graveyard of vehicles, mangled children’s playgrounds and, of course, victims.
“Bodies are still being recovered,” the bank customer service worker told the Daily Star after a day of trawling through the devastation, which he likened to something from post-apocalyptic movie The Road.
(Image: Benen Wann)
In one home destroyed by the floods, Benen stands beside the wall with a brown discolouration on the paint showing how high the waters were.
(Image: Benen Wann)
To donate to the affected region’s relief efforts click here.
The official death toll is at least 217 people, with dozens of others still unaccounted for. Almost all of the deaths occurred in the Valencia region and more than 60 in the suburb of Paiporta.
Benen, covered head to toe in mud and wearing a protective facemask, said: “It’s apocalyptic! There’s also just a sense of no actual organisation from anyone in authority (police/ government etc) so the onus was basically on the victims and anyone who volunteered to help.”
(Image: Benen Wann)
Despite the alleged lack of help from authorities, he said the sense of community has been inspiring. “It was actually class to see everyone banding together in the face of such devastation,” he said.
However, the sense of public annoyance is pervasive. “The public are at odds with those in power presently. The King and PM showed up yesterday and were chased out,” he said.
(Image: Benen Wann)
The king faced chants of “murderer” as he visited hard-hit Paiporta, just outside of Valencia city, along with Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and regional governor Carlos Mazon. Eggs and mud were launched at the officials.
Security opened umbrellas to try and protect them from projectiles but the visceral anger showed that the public are irked by the perceived lax response from officials.
(Image: Benen Wann)
Belen, a supermarket cashier, said she was angry with both the national and regional governments about how slowly help arrived.
“That’s what hurts us, that they only come here for a photo,” she said. “They’re all the same dog with different collars. They’re all scum.”
Another 2,500 soldiers arrived in the flood-hit east of Spain on Monday. The army sent about 5,000 soldiers over the weekend to help distribute food and water, clean up streets and guard against looters.
(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
Rescuers are also scanning river mouths, where more bodies may have been deposited. Drones are also being used to scan underground car parks and garages, where many bodies may be trapped. “With these drones we can send them inside the garages and have a first visual of what’s going on,” police spokesperson Ricardo Gutierrez said.
To donate to the affected region’s relief efforts click here.
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