BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — At least 64 people have died in eastern Spain after flash floods washed away cars, turned village streets into rivers and shut down rail lines and highways. This is the worst natural disaster to hit the European country in recent times.

Rainstorms that began on Tuesday and continued overnight caused flooding across much of southern and eastern Spain, stretching from Malaga to Valencia. Muddy streams sent vehicles tumbling through the streets at high speeds, while pieces of wood containing household items swirled in the water. Police and emergency services used helicopters to lift people from their homes and inflatable boats to reach motorists trapped on car roofs.

Emergency services in the eastern Valencia region confirmed a death toll of 62 on Wednesday. Another two victims were reported from the neighboring Castile-La Mancha region.

Search forces set out to find survivors and victims, and countless numbers are still missing. The Spanish government has announced that it will declare three days of mourning for the victims of the devastating flash floods starting Thursday.

“For those who are looking for their loved ones, all of Spain feels your pain,” Sánchez said in a televised address. “Our priority is to help you. We are devoting all necessary resources to ensure we can recover from this tragedy.”

Authorities reported several people missing late Tuesday, but the next morning came the shocking news that dozens had been found dead.

“Yesterday was the worst day of my life,” Ricardo Gabaldón, the mayor of Utiel, a town in Valencia, told national broadcaster RTVE. He said six residents of his town died and several others were missing.

“We were trapped like rats. Cars and dumpsters streamed through the streets. “The water rose to three meters (9.8 feet),” he said.

Over 1,000 soldiers from the Spanish emergency operations were deployed to the devastated areas. Rescue workers also rushed east from other parts of Spain. The Spanish central government has set up a crisis committee to coordinate rescue efforts.

The elderly were most at risk. RTVE showed video of a nursing home with several seniors in chairs and wheelchairs with water rising above their knees as staff struggled to ensure their safety. Elsewhere, an elderly couple was rescued from the upper floor of their house by a military unit using a bulldozer, with three soldiers accompanying them with the giant shovel.

Television reports showed videos of panicked residents documenting water flooding the ground floors of homes, streams overflowing and bridges giving way. People could be heard gasping as they pointed at bodies they feared were bobbing in the rapid brown tide.

Spain's national weather service described the rainfall as “extraordinary”: 491 liters per square meter (12 gallons per square foot) fell in the Valencian town of Chiva within eight hours.

Spain has experienced it similar autumn storms in recent years. However, nothing compared to the devastation of the last two days, which is reminiscent of floods in Germany and Belgium in 2021, which killed 230 people.

The death toll is likely to rise as other regions have not yet reported any casualties and search efforts continue in hard-to-reach areas.

In the village of Letur in the neighboring region of Castile-La Mancha, Mayor Sergio Marín Sánchez said six people were missing.

Spain is still recovering from a severe drought and continues to record record highs high temperatures in recent years. Scientists assume that extreme weather events will occur more frequently probably linked to climate change.

The ongoing drought has also made it more difficult for the country to absorb large amounts of water.

The storms spawned a freak hailstorm that punched holes in car windows and greenhouses, as well as a rarely seen tornado.

Transport was also affected. A high-speed train with nearly 300 people on board derailed near Malaga, although rail authorities said no one was injured. High-speed train services between the city of Valencia and Madrid were disrupted, as were commuter lines.

Valencia regional president Carlos Mazón urged people to stay at home as travel by road was already difficult due to fallen trees and destroyed vehicles. Rescue efforts were hampered by downed power lines, Mazón said, leaving areas without power while phone lines were overwhelmed with calls. He said the regional ambulance service had answered around 30,000 calls.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told reporters in Brussels that the EU would help by deploying its Copernicus geo-surveillance satellite system “to help coordinate rescue teams.”

The EU chief said the bloc was ready to activate a civil protection mechanism offering joint assistance from the other 26 member countries if Spain requests help.

“Europe is ready to help,” said von der Leyen.

As the water fell, thick layers of mud mixed with trash left streets unrecognizable.

“The neighborhood is destroyed, all the cars are on top of each other, it's literally smashed,” Christian Viena, a bar owner in the Valencian village of Barrio de la Torre, said by phone. “Everything is a total wreck, everything is ready to be thrown away. The mud is almost 30 centimeters deep.”

Outside Vienna's bar, people ventured out to see what they could save. Cars were piled up and the streets were full of clumps of water-soaked branches.

Relatives of the missing people appealed on social media and on local television and radio stations to find their relatives.

Leonardo Enrique told RTVE that his family searched for hours for his son Leonardo Enrique Rivera, 40, who was driving a van when it began to rain. His son sent a message that his van was flooded and he had been hit by another vehicle while he was near Ribarroja, an industrial town that is among the worst affected, Enrique said.

Located south of Barcelona on the Mediterranean coast, Valencia is a tourist destination known for its beaches, citrus groves and as the home of the Spanish rice dish paella.

Like some other areas of Spain, Valencia has ravines and small riverbeds that remain completely dry for much of the year but quickly fill with water when it rains. Many of them pass through populated areas.

Rain had eased in Valencia late Wednesday morning as the storm moved north, prompting authorities in the Barcelona region to issue weather warnings.

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Medrano reported from Madrid. Associated Press journalist Lorne Cook contributed in Brussels.