Spain floods kill four as torrential rain inundates eastern regions

Torrential rain battered eastern Spain, unleashing severe flooding that left at least four people dead in recent days, inundated streets and forced many residents to stay indoors, authorities said Monday. The downpours, which pummelled parts of Spain's Mediterranean coast particularly hard, dumped as much as 700 litres of rain per square metre (155 US gallons per square yard) in just 24 hours in some areas of the Valencia region. Floodwaters swept away parked cars, submerged roads and cut off residents, some of whom had to be airlifted to safety by emergency crews. "We are talking about three deaths," Valencia regional president Juan Francisco Perez Llorca told reporters Monday, while urging caution as authorities assessed the damage. Two of the victims were found in the coastal resort of Oliva, one of the areas worst hit by Sunday night's storms. One was a 79-year-old woman found in her home, while another was a man who suffered a fatal heart attack at a local campsite. The third victim was a man who drowned Sunday while swimming at a beach in Sagunto. Read moreEl Nino breaks Pacific temperature record as weather pattern intensifies Firefighters in neighbouring Catalonia had on Su...