Valencia, Spain - October 31, 2024 Spain's heavy flood death toll has raised questions about the country's warning system meant to alert residents of impending extreme storms. Torrential rains began at the beginning of the week, with the National weather agency AEMET launching a red alert for the hardest-hit eastern Valencia region on Tuesday morning. Conditions deteriorated throughout the day, but it wasn't until the early evening that the regional body in charge of coordinating the emergency services was set up. Subsequently, an alert sent by the civil protection service urging residents in the Mediterranean coastal city of Valencia not to leave home was issued after 8:00 pm (19:00 UTC). But by that time it was already too late for many, as motorists trying to flee found themselves trapped on roads and left at the mercy of extreme quantities of water.