Calgarians fundraise for Spanish flooding relief efforts

Emergency services remove cars in an area affected by floods in Catarroja, Spain, on Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

A group of Calgarians are doing their best to help southeast Spain after widespread flooding killed hundreds and left thousands of others without access to clean drinking water or food.

On Oct. 29, heavy rain led to flooding and landslides. In the week since, authorities have recovered 217 bodies — 211 of them in the eastern Valencia region — and are searching for at least 89 others confirmed to be unaccounted for.

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The majority of those near the epicentre are still without clean drinking water and basic supplies.

That's where new-Calgarian Clara Bon is originally from.

"It's heartbreaking to see my hometown suffer such devastating floods, and also frustrating not to be there helping my community directly," she said.

So, after friends and neighbours asked how they can help, Bon created a GoFundMe page.

She's pledging donations from the campaign to Banco de Alimentos de Valencia, a non-profit organization on the ground.

"It's actively helping families in need, providing essential needs like food and clean water," Bon said.

"I feel really proud and moved by how people are coming together to help each other in these difficult times, especially when institutions have failed."

Climate disaster

On Nov. 4, five days after the original floods, heavy rains caused more damage and disruptions in Catalonia, which includes Barcelona.

Kaveh Madani, who is a director with the United Nations University, call the off-season event a disaster.

"With climate change, extreme events like flooding, wildfires, droughts and so on become more frequent and stronger," he told CTV News.

"We cannot say there is any country that is flood-proof."