Rescue teams discovered the bodies of eight people on Thursday who had been trapped in a garage after devastating flash floods hit eastern Spain.
The death toll in the Valencia region alone climbed to 155.
Local authorities have not disclosed how many people are still unaccounted for after Europe’s deadliest floods in years and Defence Minister Margarita Robles said the final national death toll could be much greater.
Valencia Mayor Maria Jose Catala told reporters that a local policeman was among the eight bodies found drowned in the garage in the city’s suburb of La Torre. In the same neighbourhood, she added, a 45-year-old woman was also found dead in her home.
Meteorologists have said a year’s worth of rain fell in eight hours in parts of Valencia on Tuesday.
The floods battered Valencia’s infrastructure, sweeping away bridges, roads, and rail tracks and submerging farmland in a region that produces about two-thirds of the citrus fruit grown in Spain, a leading global exporter of oranges.
On Thursday, thousands of people carrying bags or pushing shopping trolleys were seen crossing a pedestrian bridge over the Turia River from La Torre into Valencia city centre to stock up on essential supplies such as toilet paper and water.
In Godelleta, a town 37 km (23 miles) west of Valencia city, Antonio Molina, 52, described how he survived a flash flood on Tuesday evening by clinging to a pillar on a neighbour’s porch with water up to his neck till the heavy rain finally subsided.
