Officers Carry Elderly Residents Out of Deadly Spain Floods

Spanish Civil Guard officers waded through flooded streets to carry elderly residents out of their homes as the storm known as DANA Adam swamped the Valencia coast.

Footage released by the Civil Guard shows officers from its Reserve and Security Group helping an older couple out of a doorway into ankle-deep brown water, carrying a woman on an officer’s back and guiding a man through the flood to patrol cars, as police vehicles drive through waterlogged streets lined with palm trees in Oliva on October 19.

The Civil Guard said it had deployed 1,343 officers to protect the population and keep roads and infrastructure running. By the evening of October 19, the force had evacuated 2,141 people and rescued 496 in Valencia and Alicante provinces, including a family in Oliva rescued by the unit, and had helped eight stranded dogs.

DANA Adam brought more than 600 liters of rain per square meter to parts of southern Valencia and northern Alicante. Two people were found dead in Oliva, one of the worst-hit towns, bringing the storm’s confirmed toll to four. Confinement orders affecting 145 municipalities were lifted later that day as the emergency eased.