Flooding from Storm Adam prompted Spain’s Civil Guard to report 2,141 people evacuated and 496 rescues in Valencia and Alicante, as the government prepared a recovery plan.
The force’s Oct. 19 update also listed 1,343 officers deployed in the two provinces. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez visited Oliva on Oct. 20 and met emergency coordinators and local mayors, according to the government.
Accounts differed on deaths. The government’s account of the Oliva visit said Sánchez offered condolences over five deaths he linked to the rain. EFE reported four deaths in its lead, but elsewhere counted three storm victims and said a farmer’s death remained under investigation.
Rubén del Campo, a spokesperson for Spain’s State Meteorological Agency (AEMET), said Pego recorded nearly 430 liters per square meter during a six-hour period. Pego’s total over 36 hours was 632 liters per square meter; Oliva recorded 351 liters per square meter during that same six-hour stretch.
AEMET identifies Adam as a DANA, a low-pressure system isolated in the upper atmosphere, and lists Oct. 16 as the date it named the storm.
Sánchez said the Council of Ministers would designate affected municipalities as disaster areas. The government said recovery would include economic resources and faster public procurement, but gave no funding amount or decision date. Cabinet approval remains pending.
