Photo: VCG

Two Chinese nationals died, another two missing in the most severe floods in southeastern Spain in a decade, the Chinese Embassy in Spain said on Saturday. The Chinese community in Spain has donated money to help people in need, and Chinese rescue teams are actively engaging in cleanup efforts and providing urgently needed supplies to help restore order in affected areas. 

Due to heavy rainfall, the southeastern region of Spain has experienced the most severe flooding in a decade over the past few days, resulting in 214 deaths so far, Reuters reported. 

According to Reuters, meteorologists said a year's worth of rain had fallen in eight hours in parts of Valencia on Tuesday.

In the aftermath of the flooding, the Chinese community in Spain has actively donated money and supplies to help local residents through this difficult time. The Valencia region has been hit the hardest, with significant losses suffered by the local Chinese community, said the embassy.

A representative from Gongyang Rescue Team told the Global Times on Sunday that on Saturday morning local time, the team set off from Barcelona to the disaster-hit area in Valencia. They brought essential supplies such as drinking water, bread and biscuits, as well as brooms, mops, garbage bins, rain boots and gloves. 

The flood had caused water and power outages in the disaster-stricken area, leading to a shortage of supplies. The residents were in desperate need of clean drinking water and food, the Global Times learned from Gongyang. 

Additionally, the Valencia local federation of Chinese Associations has established donation sites for supplies and set up fundraising accounts to assist local residents in overcoming this crisis, said the embassy.

In a televised statement on Saturday, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said the government was sending 5,000 more army troops to help with the searches and cleanup effort in addition to 2,500 soldiers already deployed, per Reuters.

"It is the biggest operation by the Armed Forces in Spain in peacetime," Sanchez said. "The government is going to mobilize all the resources necessary as long as they are needed."

Reuters said the Spanish flood is already Europe's worst flood-related disaster since 1967 when at least 500 people died in Portugal.

Europe has been attacked by devastating flood in recent years, including the Storm Boris, which ravaged through Poland, the Czech Republic, Romania, Austria and Italy, among other countries, leading to at least 24 deaths and billions of pounds of damage, according to the BBC.

Spain's deadliest floods in decades are another harrowing reminder that Europe is unprepared for the consequences of a superheated atmosphere, said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday. "This is the dramatic reality of climate change. And we must prepare to deal with it," she said.

The lessons of deadly floods for Europe and the world are to strengthen forecasting and warning capabilities, as well as to emphasize the importance of emission reduction, Ma Jun, director of the Beijing-based Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs, told the Global Times on Sunday.

Countries must take more proactive measures to reduce emissions in order to avoid further increases in global temperatures, which could lead to more severe climate consequences, Ma noted.