CNN
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The deadly floods that hit Spain this week after intense, historic rainfall are so extensive and intense that the area looks like an inland sea from space.
In east-central Spain, a year’s worth of rain fell in just hours on Tuesday, creating a wave of water that broke the banks of rivers, turned streets into raging rapids and washed away cars and bridges.
At least 155 people died in the catastrophic flooding – the kind of extreme rainfall events that are becoming all too common as the world warms due to fossil fuel pollution.
Parts of the area now look like an extension of the Balearic Islands after unprecedented rainfall turned what should have been dry ground into a vast expanse of water, according to satellite images captured on October 30.
The flood waters show different shades of blue and covered the dry ground (brown and green) earlier this month, the images show. The dramatic, widespread flooding inland has turned coastal areas almost into islands.
Waterways that were barely noticeable in the “before” Satellite images from earlier this month – such as those just south of Valencia city center – are now highlighted in bright blue, indicating how swollen they are.
Dozens of people remain missing Thursday as rescue and recovery efforts continue.
The heavy rainfall produced this week was about 12% heavier and twice as likely as it is today compared to a pre-industrial climate, before humans started burning fossil fuels, according to a quick analysis from World Weather Attribution. In Chiva, located just west of Valencia, 45 centimeters of rain fell in an eight-hour period on Tuesday, according to the country’s meteorological service, AEMET.
Rapid analysis is conducted in the immediate aftermath of extreme weather events by analyzing data and climate models to determine what role climate change has played.
CNN meteorologist Brandon Miller and CNN’s Laura Paddison contributed to this report.
