At least 13 people have been killed in Spain after floods hit parts of the country.

Torrential rain flooded roads and cities on Tuesday, sweeping cars off the streets, derailing a train and damaging homes and buildings.

Authorities in the worst-hit areas have advised people to stay at home and avoid all non-essential travel.

According to state broadcaster TVE, police said at least 13 people had died in the floods that hit the southeast Spain.

Among those killed, in the Valencia region, were four children, while six people were also missing.

Hours earlier, the leader of the Valencia region told reporters that bodies had been found, but did not provide a number “out of respect for the families”.

Earlier, the national government office for the Castilla La Mancha region told Cadena Ser radio station that six people from the region were missing.

In Letur, near the Sierra de Segura, 30 people were trapped after the river that runs through the town burst its banks.

Dozens of videos shared on social media appeared to show people trapped in floodwaters, many of them clinging to trees to avoid being swept away. Authorities used helicopters to rescue some residents from their homes.

Other videos shared by Spanish broadcasters showed floods rising to the lower levels of houses and even carrying cars down the street.

Radio and TV stations received hundreds of calls for help from people stranded in flooded areas or searching for loved ones, as emergency services were unable to reach all affected locations.

“It was chaos”

A British couple told Sky News they had been stuck in their car for nearly 10 hours.

Vitalij Farafonov and his wife were visiting Valencia on a yoga retreat when they were pulled over by police on a motorway at around 8pm last night.

He said: “It was chaos as I counted nine or 10 lorries overturned on a half-mile stretch of the motorway.

“I’ve never seen anything like it.”

The couple, who are originally from the Midlands but now live in Luxembourg, have four children who are safe in Barcelona with relatives.

Mr Farafonov said he and his wife were stuck “on a random country road with beautiful orange groves in between”.

“We can finally see flashing blue lights so people know where we are,” he added. “Like I say, we’re the lucky ones.”

Transport was severely affected by the floods.

A high-speed train with nearly 300 people on board derailed near Malaga, but authorities said no one was injured.

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Rail lines elsewhere were also disrupted.

The storms are forecast to continue through Thursday, according to the country’s weather service.

Spain has experienced similar autumn storms in recent years.

Scientists have warned that increased episodes of extreme weather, such as flash floods or forest fires seen elsewhere in Europe during the summer, are likely to be linked to human-induced climate change.

Meteorologists believe that warming the Mediterranean, which increases water evaporation, plays a key role in worsening the torrential rains.