Spanish Flood-Hit Towns Brace for Another Storm

A bulldozer removes damaged cars in the flood-hit municipality of Paiporta, province of Valencia, Spain, 12 November 2024. (EPA)
A bulldozer removes damaged cars in the flood-hit municipality of Paiporta, province of Valencia, Spain, 12 November 2024. (EPA)
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Spanish Flood-Hit Towns Brace for Another Storm

A bulldozer removes damaged cars in the flood-hit municipality of Paiporta, province of Valencia, Spain, 12 November 2024. (EPA)
A bulldozer removes damaged cars in the flood-hit municipality of Paiporta, province of Valencia, Spain, 12 November 2024. (EPA)

Flood-hit towns near the eastern city of Valencia were rushing on Tuesday to clear the sewage system of mud and debris, pile sandbags and cancel school classes as they prepared for another approaching storm.

Two weeks after the worst floods in Spain's modern history killed more than 200 people, national weather service AEMET issued an orange alert, the second-highest, for strong or torrential rains expected on Wednesday in the same area.

AEMET forecasts as much as 120 mm (4.7 inches) of rain in 12 hours. While the storm is not expected to be as powerful, it could be devastating for the towns that are still recovering.

The impact of the rain could be severe because of the quantities of mud already on the ground and because of the condition of the sewage system, Rosa Tauris, a spokesperson for Valencia's emergency committee, told reporters.

Thousands of workers are cleaning buildings while removing the mud that accumulated on roads and sidewalks and clogged the sewage pipes and drains in towns and suburbs around Valencia.

The emergency committee issued a special warning requesting that municipalities and organizations take preventive measures, including closing schools.

Tauris recommended citizens work remotely when possible, avoid non-essential travel and follow emergency services' updates.

The town council of Chiva, one of the worst-hit sites, cancelled classes and sports activities, while in nearby Aldaia, workers piled up sandbags to protect the town.

"We are placing sandbags to replace the floodgates that the previous floods tore down," municipal worker Antonio Ojeda said, hoping this would prevent the Saleta ravine from overflowing again.

They are also cleaning the ditches and drains that are obstructed with trees, tires and car parts.

On Monday, 10,000 tons of furniture, appliances and clothing were removed, almost as much waste as Valencia disposes of in a year.

Valencian authorities suspended classes and activities at recreational centers in the flood-hit suburbs, advising volunteers who flocked to the area to help clean up to avoid travel.

The AEMET's weather alerts cover much of the Mediterranean coast of Catalonia, Valencia and Andalusia and the Balearic Islands.



China Holds Sea and Air Combat Drills at Disputed Scarborough Shoal

Members of the Philippine Coast Guard stand alert as a Chinese Coast Guard vessel blocks their way to a resupply mission at Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea, March 5, 2024. (Reuters)
Members of the Philippine Coast Guard stand alert as a Chinese Coast Guard vessel blocks their way to a resupply mission at Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea, March 5, 2024. (Reuters)
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China Holds Sea and Air Combat Drills at Disputed Scarborough Shoal

Members of the Philippine Coast Guard stand alert as a Chinese Coast Guard vessel blocks their way to a resupply mission at Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea, March 5, 2024. (Reuters)
Members of the Philippine Coast Guard stand alert as a Chinese Coast Guard vessel blocks their way to a resupply mission at Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea, March 5, 2024. (Reuters)

China held sea and air combat drills Wednesday at the disputed Scarborough Shoal, an area of reefs and rocks the Philippines also claims in the South China Sea.

On Sunday, China published new baselines for the shoal including geographic coordinates. A nation’s territorial waters and exclusive economic zone are typically defined as the distance from the baselines.

“This is a patrol and guard activity carried out by the theater troops in accordance with the law," the People's Liberation Army's southern command said in a short statement.

China seized the shoal, which lies west of the main Philippine island of Luzon, in 2012 and has since restricted access to Filipino fishermen there. A 2016 ruling by an international arbitration court found that most Chinese claims in the South China Sea were invalid but Beijing refuses to abide by it.

Tensions between the two countries have been building over their competing claims to Scarborough Shoal and other outcrops in the sea, and clashes have occurred in the disputed waters including the Chinese coast guard firing water cannons at Filipino ships.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed two laws last week reaffirming the extent of his country’s maritime territories and right to resources, including in the South China Sea, in a move that angered China.

China's claims to almost the entire sea overlap with claims by the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia and other governments.