New red alert in Spanish region - as residents told to 'brace for more fatalities'

Bridge buckled in powerful flood waters

In Carlet, the clean-up is happening in earnest.

The Magro river barrelled past the town on Tuesday, sending water cascading into the nearby streets.

The force of the water was so strong that it buckled the bridge, bending some of its concrete pillars like they were twigs. 

Sections of pavement at both ends have disappeared, washed away in the floods. 

This morning when teams of volunteers arrived, the main road next to the river was still flooded.

But after hours of hard graft with pumps and brooms they managed to start to clear it.

It's a similar scene across the town as diggers and forklifts drag away debris.

Despite the hammer blow this community has been dealt, it's determined to get rebuilding. 

Residents say they don't have food and medicine

It's been three days since flash floods swept through several towns in southern Valencia, and still many residents say they are without basic supplies. 

Streets are blocked by piled-up vehicles and debris, and some people are trapped in their homes. 

Some areas do not have electricity, running water or stable telephone connections. 

A resident of Alfafar, one of the most affected towns, told state television station TV that they are facing a "disaster". 

"There are a lot of elderly people who don't have medicine. There are children who don't have food. We don't have milk, we don't have water. We have no access to anything," they said. 

"No-one even came to warn us on the first day."

For many residents, the initial shock has given way to anger and frustration. 

Car left partially submerged

In Alfafar, Valencia, residents are helping to clear mud left behind by this week's deadly flash floods. 

Cars carried by the powerful waters litter the streets, with one still partially submerged and on its side. 

Former Valencia star killed in floods

A former Valencia CF player is among those killed in the flash floods, the club has announced. 

Jose Castillejo, 28, had played midfield for the side as well as for teams including Torre Levante, Paterna and Eldense.

In a statement, Valencia said: "We regret the death of José Castillejo, a victim of the Dana disasters.

"He was part of the club's Academy until his youth stage and has played for several teams in the Valencian Community. RIP." 

'If we left five minutes later, we would not be here'

A Chiva resident who lost his home in the flooding has said he is lucky to be alive. 

Juan Vicente Perez, who has lived in the Valencian municipality all of his life, said: "If we had left it five more minutes - we went to our neighbour's house... if we hadn't done so five minutes earlier we would not be here in this world." 

The 62-year-old said there was "no warning at all" about the flash flooding and it "caught everyone by surprise". 

"In these circumstances I don't think anyone could have done anything," he said. 

"It was something out of the ordinary, something we have never seen." 

He added: "All my memories are there, my parents lived there, they all lived there, and now in one night it is all gone."

Damaged cars taken away as clean-up operation begins

Emergency crews are picking up the pieces after this week's devastating flooding. 

Cars left damaged by the powerful flood waters are beginning to be removed, while residents have been helping with the clean-up work in Aldaia, Valencia. 

Why was the flooding so bad?

A combination of a few factors led to Spain's worst natural disaster this century. 

Firstly, the country has suffered through a drought for almost two years - meaning the ground had been left hard and unable to absorb rainfall. 

So when a year's worth of rain fell in one day, it led to extreme flash flooding. 

In the Valencian town of Chiva, it rained more in eight hours than it had in the previous 20 months. 

This was caused by a destructive weather system known locally as DANA, or high-altitude isolated depression. 

Such weather events happen when cold and warm air meet and produce powerful rain clouds. 

Sometimes this can cause large hail storms and tornadoes. 

This week's DANA was one of the three most intense such storms in the last century in the Valencia region. 

Inside Spain's flood-hit towns

Parts of the eastern Valencia region have been decimated by this week's flash flooding, with homes destroyed and entire areas covered in thick mud. 

Our presenter Jayne Secker spoke to residents in some of the worst-hit towns yesterday, who say they were "terrified". 

Spain is just waking up, but scenes of devastation remain

It's just gone 8.30am in Spain - and so another day begins where crews will be searching for the missing and the clean-up operation continues. 

In the municipality of Paiporta, in the Valencia region, debris remains scattered across the streets. 

Damaged cars sit abandoned and mud covers the ground. 

Valencia region still 'paralysed'

Europe correspondent Adam Parsons is in Catarroja, Valencia, where he says a "big clear-up operation" is under way. 

The devastation wreaked by the flooding is "so overwhelming that it is still paralysing much of this region", he says. 

Where he is standing had been the site of a factory but now it is littered with debris. 

Parsons says the area was hit by a "huge torrent of water" and "everything has been funnelled down this road". 

A dinghy, car tyres, pallets, and a sofa all sit within metres of each other. 

Now the search for bodies continues, and Spanish authorities have told people to "brace for more fatalities". 

Parsons says stories have emerged of people caught in underground car parks who thought they could rescue their cars but didn't make it out in time. 

-SKY NEWS