“We can confirm that some bodies have already been found,” Carlos Mazon told reporters, without saying how many.

Authorities could not provide more details until relatives were notified, he added.

Heavy rain lashed much of eastern and southern Spain on Tuesday, flooding streets with muddy water and disrupting rail and air travel.

Images filmed by residents with smartphones and broadcast on Spanish television showed raging waters washing away cars and flooding buildings.

In some areas, more than a month of rain fell in a single day, Spanish media reported.

“We are facing an unprecedented situation that no one remembers,” Mazon said.

Officials said Tuesday that at least seven people are missing — a truck driver in the Valencia region and six people in the town of Letur in the eastern province of Albacete.

Emergency workers supported by drones would work through the night to search for the missing in Letur, the representative of the central government in Castilla-La Mancha, Milagros Tolon, told Spanish public broadcaster TVE.

“The priority is to find these people,” she added.

– the crisis committee –

Spain’s central government set up a crisis committee that met for the first time late Tuesday to oversee the response to the storm.

“I am closely following with concern the reports of missing persons and damage caused by the storm in the last hours,” Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez wrote on X, urging people to follow the advice of authorities.

The government sent the UME, a military unit specialized in rescue operations, to Valencia to help local emergency services.

Valencia City Hall said all school classes and sporting events were suspended on Wednesday and parks would remain closed.

Twelve flights due to land at Valencia airport were diverted to other cities in Spain due to heavy rain and strong winds, Spanish airport operator Aena said.

Another 10 flights scheduled to depart or arrive at the airport were cancelled.

National rail infrastructure operator ADIF said it had suspended all rail services in the Valencia region “until the situation returns to normal for the safety of passengers”.

High-speed trains between Madrid and the city of Valencia will be suspended until “at least” 10am on Wednesday due to the effects of the storm, it added.

A high-speed train carrying 276 passengers derailed in the southern region of Andalusia, although no one was injured, the regional government said in a statement.

Emergency services used helicopters to lift people from homes and cars in Alora, Andalusia, after a river overflowed.

State weather agency AEMET has declared a red alert in the Valencia region and the second highest alert level in parts of Andalusia. Several roads were closed in both regions due to flooding.

Meteorologists said the storm was caused by cold air moving over the warm waters of the Mediterranean Sea, which produced intense rain clouds.

The rain is expected to continue through at least Thursday.

Scientists warn that extreme weather such as heat waves and storms are becoming more intense as a result of climate change.