Name: Valencia floods survivors grapple with PTSD one year on
Uploaded: 2025-10-23T15:04:34.265Z
Duration: 4 min 35 s
Description: One year ago, floods in the Valencia region of Spain swept away everything in their path, killing more than 220 people. Now, many of those who survived are battling lasting mental scars.

One year ago, floods in the Valencia region of Spain swept away everything in their path, killing more than 220 people. Now, many of those who survived are battling lasting mental scars.

Valencia

Survivors of the floods that struck Valencia, Spain, continue to experience significant psychological effects a year after the disaster. Many residents, such as Arantxa Ferrer, report persistent symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), including panic triggered by the sound of water and difficulty sleeping. The floods resulted in over 220 deaths and widespread destruction, leaving lasting trauma among those who lived through the event.

Mental health professionals, including special emergency units established by the Spanish government, are working to help survivors manage their symptoms through therapy and gradual exposure to rain and water. Studies indicate that nearly one in five people affected by flooding develop PTSD, and many continue to struggle with fear and anxiety as the rainy season returns. Despite ongoing therapy and support, many survivors say the trauma remains a constant presence in their lives.

Valencia floods survivors grapple with PTSD one year on

I couldn't sleep. I closed my eyes, but there were noises, people shouting, noises, noises, water, water. It's this sound that still triggers panic and fear in Arantxa Ferrer. One year ago, floods in Valencia region of Spain swept away everything in their path. Ferrer escaped by climbing out through her roof terrace to a neighbor's after her ground floor flat began filling with water. Eleven people on her street died. More than 220 people were killed, and many of those who survived are battling lasting mental scars. Fear is something that you cannot control. I don't think any medication can make the fear of something disappear. The United Nations says weather-related natural disasters are happening more often, many made worse by climate change. And floods are the most frequent of those. Parts of Europe saw their wettest year on record in 2024, with thousands affected and billions of dollars worth of damage. And studies show that because it can take so long to clean up the aftermath of floods, victims experience significant stress, leaving them with long-term mental health issues. Almost one in five people suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, after flooding, according to a study published by Cambridge University Press. We have people that doesn't want to have showers or go to the sea or be next to water. There are a lot of aquaphobia. So exposing, talking about that, and of course explaining people that it's a normal reaction because the trauma makes that your brain, it's reminding you all the time that that's dangerous. Julieta Mondo is part of a special mental health emergency unit created by the Spanish government since the floods. She says treatment involves explaining to people that their reaction to rain or water is natural, and gradually exposing them to their fear. When you suffer, you think that you are alone, and that only happens to you. So we're trying to normalize that feeling fear, it's normal, that not isolate in your world, in your head, because we are all sharing the same, in different, of course, degrees, but we are all suffering. After the floods, Ferrer said she couldn't sleep. When she closed her eyes, she would just hear people shouting, and the sound of water. The doctor who helps me with therapy also tells me that I have to expose myself when it rains, look out the window, watch the rainfall, listen to it, to break down that barrier that my mind has created around the sound of rain, like now when it's raining really hard. With the help of medication and therapy to alleviate her PTSD, Ferrer says she can now cope with seeing and hearing the rain. Her neighbor, Juan Benet, lost his sister in the floods. He says he felt no connection with a therapist, who hadn't experienced what he had. She slipped away through my fingers, that's why I'm asking, what medication could I take? Because now it's here and there, that's never going away. The end of summer signals that the rainy season is back in Valencia. Since the start of it, authorities have already issued several warnings that ultimately didn't turn into torrential rain or flooding. The trauma caused by last year's floods is still sharp in residents' minds, and many say they are struggling to get back to how and who they used to be. I'm learning to manage it so I can live as I used to, or as close as I can from how I was before all this, but I don't think any of us who have been through this are going to forget it, ever.

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