Spain flood: Death toll reaches 214

At least 214 people have been killed in the deadliest Spain’s flash floods and dozens were still unaccounted for, four days after torrential rains swept the eastern region of Valencia.

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said the government was sending 5,000 more army troops to help with the searches and clean-up in addition to 2,500 soldiers already deployed, reports Reuters.

"It is the biggest operation by the Armed Forces in Spain in peacetime," Sanchez said. "The government is going to mobilise all the resources necessary as long as they are needed."

Meanwhile, Valencian regional authorities said on Saturday night the total number of fatalities in the region was 211, plus two from Castilla La Mancha and one in Andalusia.

The tragedy is already Europe's worst flood-related disaster since 1967, when at least 500 people died in Portugal.

Hopes of finding survivors were raised when rescuers found a woman alive after three days trapped in a car park in Montcada, Valencia. Residents burst into applause when civil protection chief Martin Perez announced the news.

Volunteers flocked to Valencia's City of Arts and Sciences centre on Saturday for the first coordinated clean-up organised by regional authorities. The venue has been turned into the nerve centre for the operation.