Spain braced for a heavier human toll after at least 95 people died in flash floods that launched muddy waters through towns, tossed cars and wreaked transport havoc.

Rescuers were expected to find more bodies in the European country's deadliest flood in more than 50 years and three days of official mourning were due to start on Thursday.

Television pictures from the town of Utiel showed rescuers using dinghies worked in the dark to scour the floodwaters and taking several people to safety. Emergency services were still working to reach the worst-hit areas.

"For those who at this moment are still looking for their loved ones, the whole of Spain weeps with you," Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said in a televised address, vowing to "rebuild your streets, your squares, your bridges".

Carlos Mazon, the regional leader of Valencia, which accounts for nearly two-thirds of citrus production in the world's top orange supplier, said some people remained isolated in inaccessible locations.

"If (emergency services) have not arrived, it's not due to a lack of means or predisposition, but a problem of access," Mazon told a press conference, adding that reaching certain areas was "absolutely impossible".

At least 62 people died in Valencia, while authorities in the central region of Castilla La Mancha said the storm had left two people dead and several missing.

Dozens of videos shared on social media overnight appeared to show people trapped by the floodwaters, with some climbing into trees to avoid being swept away. Footage showed rescue workers carrying several women in a bulldozer's bucket.

Trains to the cities of Madrid and Barcelona were cancelled due to the flooding, and schools and other essential services were suspended in the worst-hit areas, officials said.

Emergency services in the region urged citizens to avoid all road travel and to follow further official advice, and a military unit specialised in rescue operations was deployed in some places to help local emergency workers.

Some parts of the region such as the towns of Turis, Chiva or Bunol recorded more than 400 millimetres of rainfall - equivalent to a year of normal rainfall - leading the state weather agency AEMET to declare a red alert on Tuesday.

As rain eased there, the alert was lowered to amber, but with the storm moving in a northeasterly direction, the regional weather service in Catalonia issued a red alert for the area around Barcelona, warning of high winds and hail.

It will likely rise with other regions yet to report victims and search efforts continuing in areas with difficult access.

Scientists say extreme weather events are becoming more frequent in Europe due to climate change. Meteorologists think the warming of the Mediterranean, which increases water evaporation, plays a key role in making torrential rains more severe. (Agencies)
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Last updated: 2024-10-31 HKT 11:12