MADRID, Spain (AFP) — The death toll from a violent storm that wrought havoc across huge swathes of Spain’s eastern and southern coastline last week has risen to 13, local authorities said Monday.
The family of a 41-year-old Colombian man confirmed that a body found off of Ibiza on Saturday was his, the island’s local government told AFP.
The man had been “one of three people missing in the Balearic Islands”, which were badly hit by the storm, the government said.
Still missing is a 25-year-old British man and a 34-year-old Spanish man, the Mediterranean holiday island’s police force said.
Local authorities had previously reported 12 storm-related deaths since January 19, when Storm Gloria hit the region bringing strong winds, torrential rains, and heavy snow.
Ibiza is one of the Balearic Islands, which were hit by waves on Tuesday that reached a record high of 14.77 meters (45.93 feet).
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said that “in some places, more rain fell in a single day than is expected in the entire year.
“This is the seventh major storm which we have experienced since the start of the storm season,” he said, describing them as “more and more destructive” and noting that Spain was “especially exposed” to the effects of climate change.
© Agence France-Presse
