“The water has reached us like the sea”, explains Joel Forster, director of Evangelical Focus from Paiporta, one of the towns located in the southern part of th Spanish region of Valencia that has been affected by the flood.

“We have a huge flood. The ravine has overflowed and has swept away bridges, reaching our neighbourhood, which is far away”, he adds.

At least 213 people have died and dozens are still missing in the Valencian region, according to official information. The storm has also left deaths in municipalities in Malaga, Cuenca and Albacete, where they are also searching for missing residents.

The government has decreed three days of national mourning and declared the area “highly affected. “Our priority is to help you. We are not going to leave you alone. We are going to help with all the resources of the state and the European Union”, said the president, Pedro Sánchez .

“The entire population is devastated”

Homes, vehicles, garages and storage rooms. The scale of the damage to both individuals and infrastructure is huge.

“People have tried to get their cars out, but it hasn’t been possible. Cars are floating in the streets. Our car is in a garage under the water and we also keep things in a storage room. Everything must be destroyed. It is a very serious situation and the town is going to be very affected. It is going to take a long time to recover from this,” says Forster. 

The cities have been  without electricity and drinking water for about ten hours. “We couldn’t cook or charge our phones”, he points out. He also explains that the water level in some areas of the town has reached one metre or more.

The mayoress of Paiporta, María Isabel Albalat, stated that the town is “isolated” and that there could be “dozens of deaths”. So far, 40 people have died in this municipality alone.

 

 

 

 

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Hope in God

The  Federation of Evangelical Religious Entities of Spain (Ferede) has expressed condolences in a statement “for the numerous losses of human lives”.

“We share the pain of so many families who today mourn their loved ones, praying that God consolation and peace may reach and embrace them in this difficult moment […] We pray that, even in a situation as painful as this, we may find reasons for hope, in the solidarity response of society, in every gesture of humanity, that we may see in it glimpses of the presence of He who loves us with an eternal love and who has promised to always be at our side”, they stress.

Also the Spanish Evangelical Alliance and the regional Valencian Evangelical Council, and Church denominations such as the free evangelical churches (FIEIDE) have opened bank accounts for getting donations. 

Prayer

From Paiporta, Forster asks the Spanish evangelical community for praye  “because recovery will not only take days, but weeks”.

“The entire town is devastated but there is a very good atmosphere among the neighbors and mutual help. We want to show God’s hope, despite feeling very small in the face of a reality like this”, he adds.

Beyond the material damage is the loss of life, which is expected to increase in the coming days as some of the missing are found.

“The other night we heard from our flat screams from the street, because there was no light, and we saw someone being rescued. We have seen people on a construction crane or on car bonnets, waiting for the water to go down”, explains Forster.

Affected evangelical churches

The local evangelical community has also been seriously affected by the storm.

A church in the town of Utiel has reported that some members of its congregation are among the missing and that others “have lost their cars and others have lost everything”. They also say they do not know the state of the premises where they meet.

Despite the damage and the impact, the evangelical community in the area is mobilizing to help as much as possible .

Ferede reports that “local churches” and “regional and provincial evangelical councils close to the most affected areas […] are collecting funds, offering their places of worship, premises and resources, to welcome and help in a practical way the people and families who may need it.” 

“We encourage the entire evangelical community in Spain, and in particular our member churches and entities, to pray for the situation, especially for the families of the deceased, and also to support with their resources and assistance, in order to bring some relief and comfort to our fellow citizens in this difficult time”, undelines Ferede. 

Evangelical social action entities are also mobilizing, such as the organization Decisión, which  has sent a team of volunteers who will travel to the affected area of ​​Valencia between October 31 and November 3.