The Spanish government has said it would send 5,000 additional soldiers and 5,000 extra police officers to the eastern region of Valencia to help with search and cleanup efforts following flash floods that have killed at least 211 people.

"It is the biggest operation by the armed forces in Spain in peacetime," Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said in a televised statement on Saturday. "The government is going to mobilize all the resources necessary as long as they are needed."

Torrential rain swept across Spain's east from Tuesday evening into Wednesday morning, triggering the country's deadliest flood event in modern history. Many people were caught unawares and were swept away in their cars or trapped in houses.

Four days on, dozens of people are still believed to be missing.

Search for survivors continues

Rescuers continued to search through debris, stranded cars and waterlogged buildings on Saturday.

There are currently already some 2,000 soldiers involved in the emergency operation, as well as almost 2,500 Civil Guard gendarmes and 1,800 police officers.

Thousands of volunteers have also joined cleanup efforts in hard-hit towns in the Valencia region, which bore the brunt of the flooding.  

Regional authorities have imposed tight restrictions on driving in the area until Sunday to keep roads clear for emergency services.

Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said he expected the death toll to rise.

In the wake of the disaster, the Valencia regional government has faced criticism for only sending out flood warnings to mobile phones on Tuesday evening, when the flooding had already started in some places.

Scientists have said extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and more severe as a result of human-caused climate change.

Football matches called off

The disaster prompted football officials to postpone two first-division games between Valencia and Real Madrid, as well as Villarreal versus Rayo Vallecano, which had been set to take place on Saturday.

Longtime Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone said "it makes no sense" for any La Liga matches to go ahead this weekend.

"What is happening is very hard," he told reporters ahead of his side's game against Las Palmas on Sunday. "It is very moving to see the people who went out on the streets to help, who with a shovel and their tools are trying to collaborate and that speaks very well of the country, of the people, and we want to help wherever we can."

"There are people having a very hard time, it's very sad, and they tell us to continue, and here we are, continuing."

Barcelona coach Hansi Flick also said calling off all games might have been the right decision.

"For me it's a tragedy. We also had this in Germany three years ago. It's also horrible to see this," he said, referring to flash flooding in Germany's Ahr Valley in July 2021 that killed more than 180 people.

"If we can support the region, we will do that of course; the other things the league has to decide," Flick said.

nm/msh (Reuters, AP, AFP)