Spain floods: Trapped British family rescued by army amid scramble to repair riverbanks after deadly rains

‘Cars were streaming past along with furniture, suitcases and two people who tried to cross the road’

The city of Orihuela in Alicante was flooded when a neighbouring river burst its banks in several places (EPA)

A British family with two toddlers were rescued by the Spanish army after becoming trapped in their villa for 12 hours after the country’s worst September storms in decades sparked deadly flash floods.

Paul Spencer, from Doncaster, said the basement of his family’s Alicante home became totally submerged “within half an hour”, after which the family of six waited eight hours for the military to arrive.

“Cars were streaming past, along with furniture, suitcases and even two people who tried to cross the road,” Mr Spencer told the Olive Press. “They just got swept away. Their screams were awful, we don’t know what happened to them.”

Authorities confirmed on Saturday that the known death toll had risen to six with the death of a 41-year-old man at nearby Orihuela, where the Segura River burst its banks.

The military emergency services unit scrambled to repair the riverbank, while colleagues handed out food supplies to evacuated residents. At least 3,500 people have been evacuated so far.

Acting prime minister Pedro Sanchez, who flew over the devastated areas in a helicopter on Saturday, said he “deeply lamented” the latest casualty.

“All my warmth and solidarity for the people affected by the heavy rains,” he said. “Together, we will deploy all our resources and aid to help the population and return things to normal.”

The Segura River burst its banks in several places near heavily populated towns hours after officials were forced to release water from the nearby Santomera dam, which had reached 100 per cent capacity.

Storms in this area are a yearly meteorological phenomenon, but they have been particularly fierce this autumn, turning fields into lakes and roads into surging rivers of mud that sweep away everything in their path.

Several regions received record rainfall. According to El Pais, the Valencian town Ontinyent experienced 250mm of rain in 12 hours – 10 times the expected rainfall for September.

About 1,000 soldiers were deployed alongside helicopters and boats, rescuing those trapped on the roofs of their homes and in waterlogged vehicles. In one case, 60 people were pulled from rising waters at a campsite that was completely surrounded by rushing water.

One man died on Friday after attempting to drive through a highway tunnel that rapidly filled with water. Two siblings were killed on Thursday after their car was swept away in torrential rain.

Railways were closed across Murcia, and the line between Madrid and Barcelona shut. Two airports in Murcia and Almeria were also closed.

More than 689,000 pupils were affected in Valencia alone as nearly 300 municipalities decided to close schools, AFP reported.

Spain’s weather service decreased the alert for rain from “extreme danger” to “at risk” on Saturday as the storm began to move westward towards the country’s central region.

Additional reporting by PA