Spain’s military prepares morgues for 400 bodies in flood-hit Valencia

The head of Spain’s Military Emergencies Unit (UME) announced on Monday that authorities have prepared morgues for 400 victims of the devastating Valencia floods.

The latest official death toll for the worst natural disaster in modern Spanish history is 217, and authorities have still refused to give a figure for the number of missing.

“We originally had a morgue for 100 dead, but we quickly saw it wouldn’t be enough. I don’t want to be unpleasant, but today we have a morgue ready for 400 dead. They are not in normal conditions, you can imagine, as they drowned. So they need a dignified space,” said UME chief Francisco Javier Marcos in a press conference.

By Monday night, six days after the historic floods, 7,800 military personnel will be deployed in the area.

He explained the military’s top priority continues to be searching for and rescuing missing people. The next priority is finding the bodies of the victims.

“Believe me when I say these are difficult situations,” he said emotionally before mentioning the underground parking lot at a large mall in one of the most affected areas.

“We are looking into the garage, but there are millions of litres of water,” he said, adding they are working in dozens of other garages. Earlier in the day, authorities said they had examined 50 cars in the mall’s parking space without finding any victims.

The military is also helping open roads, where an estimated 100,000 cars are strewn about, offering aid to victims, and monitoring the hygiene in areas at risk of disease or poor drinking water. (AA)

The post Spain’s military prepares morgues for 400 bodies in flood-hit Valencia appeared first on DailyNews.