After Flash Floods in Spain, Rescuers and Residents Face a Grim Scene

When some of the worst flash floods in decades in eastern Spain hit, Diego Hernandez was passing the city of Valencia on his way to his mother’s funeral.

As he and his wife drove on Tuesday night, a thin stream of muddy water started to appear under their tires. Soon, it was nearly three feet high and nearing the top of their seats. Within seconds, another car piled on top of theirs.

The couple fled their vehicle, initially hanging onto a tree as trash cans, car wheels, sofas and chairs streamed by in the raging floodwaters.

“It was like an apocalypse,” he said.

They were hardly alone. Thousands of people found themselves trapped in one way or another — in cars, in trucks, and in homes — as heavy rainfall pounded southern Spain early this week.

At least 95 people have died, and others are still missing, but how many remains unclear. Rescuers feared finding more bodies, said Margarita Robles, Spain’s defense minister, as they dug deeper into the mud.

Rain continued to fall overnight and into Thursday morning in eastern and southern Spain, as cities and towns in eastern Spain surveyed the damage.