Spain records rainiest October ever, culminating in deadly floods

MADRID - Spain has registered the rainiest October on record, culminating in

the most deadly floods in decades

in the country, the national weather agency AEMET said on Nov 8.

More than 220 people died

after torrential rains on Oct 29 caused flash floods that surged through suburbs south of the city of Valencia, in eastern Spain, sweeping away cars and bridges and flooding properties and underground car parks.

Seventy-eight people are missing,

although the government believes some of them could match some of the 48 bodies still to be identified.

Scientists say extreme weather events are becoming more frequent due to climate change. Meteorologists believe the warming of the Mediterranean, which increases water evaporation, plays a key role in making torrential rains more severe.

Peninsular Spain had an average of 147mm of rain in October, almost twice the average amount in a normal October, AEMET added.

Turis, a town 15km upstream from Valencia city where a year's worth of rain fell in a day, broke the national record of rainfall in an hour with 184.6mm falling.

With 771mm of rain in 24 hours, Turis was also close to breaking the record registered in 1987 in nearby Oliva of 817mm.

AEMET said October was a warm month overall, with an average temperature over peninsular Spain of 15.5 deg C, 0.9 deg C above average. REUTERS