Spain's King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia visited a flood-ravaged area of the holiday island of Majorca on Friday, offering encouragement to locals who lost homes and loved ones in the disaster.

The royal couple visited several homes that were damaged in Sant Llorenc des Cardassar, one of the towns worst-hit towns by the intense, driving rain on Tuesday afternoon which surprised locals who only had a precious few seconds to react before a torrent of water descended, flooding homes and washing away cars.

The king and queen, who was dressed in mourning black, shook hands with locals and volunteers who have come to the town from across the island to help with the clean-up operation.

Felipe at one point put his hands on the shoulders of two young girls and posed for a picture with them.

Speaking to reporters at the end of his visit, the king said he felt "enormous pride over the solidarity everyone has shown here."

"All of Spain has been following closely what happened here," he added.

The royal couple travelled to the island after presiding over a rain-soaked military parade in Madrid marking Spain's national day.

An elderly British couple, their Spanish taxi driver and a holidaying German journalist on his way to the airport were among the 12 people who died as the intense rain caused riverbeds to overflow with raging waters that tore through streets and swept cars away.

Hundreds of rescue workers, including divers, and volunteers were on Friday still searching for a missing five-year-old boy who had been in a car with his mother and sister when they were hit by a barrage of water.

His sister survived, reportedly helped to safety by their mother, who died.

"He is the only missing person who we are aware of at the moment. It's obviously a situation that causes anguish which we want to resolve as soon as possible for the family, for everyone," the public administration minister in the regional government of the Balearic Islands, Catalina Cladera, told reporters.

The local government of Majorca on Thursday approved 23 million euros ($26.6 million) euros in emergency aid to fix damaged roads and other infrastructure on the island.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez visited the disaster zone on Wednesday and described the situation as "absolutely extraordinary".

Last year, 13.8 million foreign tourists visited the Balearic Islands, according to official statistics. The biggest numbers came from Germany and Britain.

Related Links
Bringing Order To A World Of Disasters
When the Earth Quakes
A world of storm and tempest

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

Seven killed in 'massive landslide' in Uganda: Red Cross
Kampala (AFP) Oct 11, 2018
At least seven people were killed in a "massive landslide" after heavy rains in eastern Uganda Thursday, the local Red Cross said. "The preliminary report indicates that the number is likely to increase from the reported seven but we are yet to establish the actual numbers," Uganda Red Cross spokeswoman Irene Nakasiita said in a statement. Nakasiita described the situation as tense with "community members... scared and fleeing from their homes." "In the meantime, the whole district, Bududa ... read more