By David Latona, Corina Pons, Pietro Lombardi, Aislinn Laing PAIPORTA, Spain (Reuters) -The water was already knee-high on the ground floor of the hotel where Aitana Puchal had taken refuge when she received a text alert from the regional government of Valencia at 8 pm on Oct.

A year’s worth of rain fell in just eight hours around Valencia, Spain’s third most populous city, fueling the worst natural disaster in the country’s modern history.

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Flash floods in Spain swept away cars, turned village streets into rivers, disrupted rail lines and highways and killed at least 72 people in the worst natural disaster to hit the European nation in recent memory.

The water was already knee-high on the ground floor of the hotel where Aitana Puchal had taken refugee when she received a text alert from the regional government of Valencia at 8 pm on Oct. 29 warning people to shelter in place from severe flash floods.

Something like this has not happened in Cadaques for many, many years.” Local media has reported that the intensity of the downpour has eased, however the dramatic incident comes as communities in Valencia continue mopping up after at least 219 people died in flash flooding in the worst event of its kind in decades.

Spain was soaked in its wettest October on record last month which culminated in catastrophic floods that have killed 219 people and left dozens missing, the government said on Friday.