As public anger grows in Spain over the government’s lax response to flooding that has killed at least 211 people, footage has emerged showing how one town was spared the worst of the devastation thanks to a 2,000-year-old Roman dam.

The video shows how, thanks to ancient Roman engineering that helped direct the overflowing waters of the dam, the flow of water was diverted down and away from the town of Almonacid de la Cuba. Residents were thus protected from the flooding, and no damage or casualties were reported. WATCH VIDEO

Unfortunately, the floods have been widespread elsewhere, with official figures indicating around 2,000 people are missing and the death toll continues to rise.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez told a news conference on Saturday that the official death toll stood at 211.

‘Dozens of people are still searching for their loved ones, and hundreds of families are mourning the loss of a relative, friend or neighbour,’ said Sanchez, who earlier ordered the country’s largest peacetime military deployment. An additional 5,000 troops will be deployed to help with the aftermath of the devastating floods.

Some are hoping for a miraculous rescue. Rescuers have pulled an elderly woman from under a pile of cars after she spent three days trapped in a car next to her dead daughter-in-law.

Aid workers reportedly found her after hearing cries for help. Local media reported that she was trapped by other cars piled on top of hers.

In the city of Chiva, rescuers found 16 survivors who had been locked in a basement for five days after the flood.

Frustration is growing among locals as they wait for the soldiers promised by the government. Many complained that the clean-up work was being done entirely by volunteers. However, a group of 30 volunteer soldiers joined the rescue efforts for personal reasons.

Prime Minister Sanchez acknowledged that the government’s intervention had been insufficient and said that while the focus was currently on rescue efforts, a review of the authorities’ handling of the disaster would be needed later.

‘I know there are serious problems and shortages of resources, that there are still services that have been destroyed and cities that are buried under mud where people are desperately looking for their relatives and people who can’t get into their homes and homes that have been buried or destroyed by mud. I know we have to do better and give it our all,’ he said.

Valencia regional president Carlos Masón said thousands of calls were still coming in from people desperately searching for relatives and friends.

Many Valencians said the alerts issued at 8pm on Tuesday came too late, leaving many stuck in gridlock on their way home from work, trapped in their cars or on roofs by rising waters.

Cycles of drought and flooding in the Mediterranean are intensifying due to climate change, experts say. In addition to Valencia, floods have affected Castilla-La Mancha, the Murcia and Andalusia regions, and the Balearic Islands. PLEASE SHARE OUR STORIES ON SOCIAL MEDIA

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