Spain flood disaster shown from space in distressing satellite images

Shocking satellite images have laid bare the true extent of the flood disaster in Spain.

Valencia, on the east coast, was hit by a year’s worth of rain in just eight hours, the country’s national weather agency Aemet said. The deluge caused devastating flash floods, turning streets into rivers, destroying homes and sweeping away vehicles.

At least 158 people have been killed in the flooding disaster - Spain’s worst this century - with rescue workers searching for bodies in stranded cars and sodden buildings.

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Following the flood, the Copernicus Emergency Rapid Mapping Service has been activated to provide satellite imagery to support rescue and recovery efforts. Copernicus is the Earth observation component of the European Union's space programme.

Images from the US Landsat-8 satellite vividly illustrate the scale of the disaster, with observations from 8 October and 30 October showing the dramatic transformation of the landscape.

Meanwhile, an expat teacher living south of Valencia said he was unable to leave his town due to being “surrounded by water” following the flash flooding in the region. John Fahy, 55, who lives in a seaside town called Cullera, reported there being no food in the supermarkets, with no new supplies expected for a while.

“The army was only sent in two, three hours ago, because now they’re finding more bodies in garages,” Mr Fahy, from Dublin, told the PA news agency. “We can’t leave our town because it’s flooded all around.

“There’s no-one in the shops in Cullera because there’s no food and there won’t be for a while.”

Mr Fahy, who works as an economics teacher 30km north of Valencia, was