Spain is hit by 'catastrophic' flood horror: 'Bodies and bodies appear' after sudden flash floods trapped families, swept a baby to its death, forced people to cling for dear life to trees and leave h

The full horror of the devastating storms that lashed large parts of Spain yesterday has begun to emerge this morning as police confirmed they had recovered 13 bodies overnight in the province of Valencia alone.

They include four people in Paiporta, two men, a woman and a baby, and five in Torrent near the provincial capital.

The scale of the unfolding tragedy emerged hours after the region's president confirmed the discovery of 'several bodies' after flash floods turned streets into rivers and left hundreds trapped in their homes.

Spain's government announced the creation of a crisis committee - the equivalent of Britain's Cobra emergency response committee - as the size of the disaster became apparent.

The worst-hit areas are the province of Valencia where political leader Carlos Mazon first went public with news of 'several fatalities' in the early hours of this morning and the small town of Letur in the province of Albacete where six people including two council workers are said to be missing after a river burst its banks.

Two Civil Guard officers are feared to be among the fatalities after becoming trapped in a flooded basement in their police station in Paiporta near the city of Valencia, the capital of the province of the same name.

In nearby Massannassa on Valencia's outskirts, a man died after getting trapped in a lift as he went down to a flooded underground car park beneath his apartment to check on his vehicle.

Mr Mazon, the right-wing president of the Valencian regional government which covers the provinces of Alicante, Valencia and Castellon, admitted just after midnight local time: 'We are beginning to be able to reach areas we weren't able to before.

'I have to say bodies have been found. Out of respect of the families we are not going to give out any more information.

'But we can confirm there are fatalities, there are bodies and bodies are continuing to appear in places we hadn't been able to access before.'

Around 8am this morning the Civil Guard in Valencia said they had recovered 13 bodies so far from six different towns near the capital city.

Around 600 people were trapped in the Bonaire mall, Valencia's largest shopping centre last night after ground-floor flooding.

One man was filmed surrounded by floodwater sitting on the roof of his car as he waited for help to arrive.

Others are said to have clung onto trees to save their lives as streets were turned into raging rivers after rivers burst their banks.

A taxi driver called Paco, who was among those affected in Paiporta which was hit by devastating flash floods, told Spanish TV: 'We were heading along a road leading to the CV-36 motorway and as we got to a roundabout before we reached it, we saw people warning us to turn round.

'We turned back but in a question of seconds a massive amount of water appeared.

'It was impossible to get out of the car. A torrent of water smashed my taxi against barriers at the side of the road and I couldn't move.

'A man in a lorry eventually managed to help me but I didn't think I was going to get out of that situation alive.

'It was horrendous. I saw a young girl grabbing hold of a lamppost. The force of the water was brutal.

'We spent three hours on top of the lorry trailer before the water levels started to descend and we could reach safety.'

In another Valencian town, Utiel, the equivalent of two years' worth of rain is said to have fallen in the space of a few hours and a woman was filmed being rescued by helicopter in waist-deep flood water with her dog and cats in her arms and a bag.

The six people said to be unaccounted for in Letur, a town of just over 1,200 inhabitants where torrential rainfall led to a small river flooding its banks, include two council workers.

Around 30 people were trapped in their homes in the town centre as one of the main streets turned into a gushing river which swept cars and anyone in its path away.

A large white van carried away in the flood water ended up smashing into a house and becoming trapped between two walls.

Mayor Sergio Marin described the situation as 'catastrophic.'

Further south inland areas of the province of Malaga bordering the Guadalhorce River were also badly affected.

Several families had to be rescued with just the clothes they were wearing by officers in a Civil Guard helicopter who have been credited with saving lives.

A yellow weather alert is still in place in the area.

Raging flood waters turned roads into rivers, while abandoned vehicles crashed into one another, tornados blackened the sky and golf ball-sized hailstones pelted down amid near-apocalyptic scenes in southern and eastern Spain today, as rescuers said they had recovered several bodies.

An unspecified number of missing persons have been found dead in areas affected by flash floods devastating parts of the country, the leader of the Valencia region told reporters early on Wednesday.

'Dead bodies have been found, but out of respect for the families, we are not going to provide any further data,' Mr Mazon said.

The adverse weather is amongst some of the most extreme the country has faced in recent years.

Terrifying footage posted online shows the storm turning the sky black as debris whips around in the sky amid blustery weather during a tornado.

In another, several cars float atop rapidly moving, soil-coloured water. The vehicles flush along the street and audibly bang into each other as they move.

Drivers also posted videos showing the horrific conditions on the roads, with many either leaving their vehicles or coming to a halt as the storm rages around them.

Authorities in the worst-hit areas have advised citizens to stay at home and avoid all non-essential travel.

In the town of Letur, in the eastern province of Albacete, cars were ferociously pushed through the streets in fast-flowing water, images broadcast on Spanish television showed.

Emergency services workers backed by drones were looking for six people who have gone missing in the wake of flash floods in the town, the central government's representative in Castilla-La Mancha told Spanish public television TVE.

'The priority is to find these people,' she added.

Police in the town of L'Alcudia in the eastern region of Valencia said they were looking for a truck driver who has been missing since early afternoon.

'I am closely following with concern the reports on missing persons and the damage caused by the storm in recent hours,' Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez wrote on X, urging people to follow the advice of the authorities.

'Be very careful and avoid unnecessary trips,' he added.

Twelve flights due to land at Valencia airport were diverted to other cities in Spain due to the heavy rain and strong winds, Spanish airport operator Aena said.

Another 10 flights which were due to depart or arrive at the airport were cancelled.

National rail infrastructure operator ADIF said it had suspended high-speed trains between Madrid and the eastern port of Valencia due to the effects of the storm on main points of the rail network' in the Valencia region until 'at least' 10am on Wednesday.

A high-speed train with 276 passengers derailed in the southern region of Andalusia, although no one was injured, the regional government said in a statement.

Emergency services rescued scores of people in Alora in Andalusia, some by helicopter, after a river overflowed.

State weather agency AEMET declared a red alert in the Valencia region and the second-highest level of alert in parts of Andalusia.

Several roads were cut in both regions due to flooding.

Elsewhere, in the Spanish city of Almería cars have been destroyed by giant golf ball-sized hailstones that fell from the sky as a violent storm passed over last night.

The ferocious hailstorm caused havoc as it swept over the southern Spanish city which also suffered flooding from freak rainfall.

Photos and videos shared to social media showed the large hailstones damaging car windshields and windows with severe dents and chips left in metal and paintwork.

Other videos and pictures showed the aftermath of the storm, with one showing nearly a dozen large holes in the rear window of an Almería resident's car.

On top of the hail, the city was flooded, with 100mm of rain falling in 12 hours. At its heaviest, 30mm of rain fell in a single hour.

The hailstorm's size and severity was the result of stormclouds that have been plaguing the region for days.

Yesterday Dólar, in Granada, was inundated with 148 mm of rain, while Caravaca de la Cruz, in Murcia, had 104 mm pour down and Carcaixent, in Valencia, was hit with 85.8 mm.

It comes just a few months after British holidaymakers hoping to leave behind the rain by heading to Spain were met with torrential downpours , hail, strong winds and flash floods.

Images from Costa Blanca showed submerged streets, overflowing rivers, and fast-moving water barrelling across dry fields before crashing onto highways in June.

Hail stones fell in some parts of the Valencian community, which includes the provinces of Alicante and Valencia.

Further south in Murcia roads turned into raging torrents.

In its capital city locals and tourists were pictured ankle-deep in water in its main street as they tried to negotiate their way past shops while others took refuge inside.

Elsewhere in the province cars were seen and wheelie bins were seen 'swimming' down streets which looked more like rivers. Firefighters were said to be 'working tirelessly' with roads closed in some places.

By contrast, British holidaymakers on the Costa del Sol were today basking in glorious sunshine.

In Marbella, tourists were topping up their tans under blue skies in 26 degrees Celsius temperatures (78 degrees Fahrenheit).

It made a welcome break for those who had just flown in from the UK.

Office worker Sally Jones, 26, said: 'I was in desperate need of sunshine. The weather's been really gloomy back home.

'I've got friends who are on the Costa Blanca right now and are saying they wished they'd come on holiday with me instead.'