‘It was a trap’: flood alert came too late for residents of Paiporta, Spain

In the town where at least 62 have died, survivors are left with their grief and anger at the lack of official warning of the devastation on its way

A man stands among flooded cars piled up in Valencia, Spain, Thursday, October 31, 2024. 

As public buildings across Spain lowered flags to half-mast to mark the first of three days of national mourning, Letícia Cardona Teruel set off with her husband and eight-year-old daughter – their rucksacks packed to the brim – to walk the seven kilometres to Valencia.

About 36 hours earlier on Tuesday, they had watched as rivers of mud-coloured water coursed through their small town of Paiporta, swamping the ground floor of buildings, sweeping away cars and submerging local plazas. On Thursday, as access roads remained mostly cut off, they were among a dozen or so residents who were walking to the regional capital in hopes of staying safe.