EXCLUSIVE: Expat Benen Wann, originally from Sligo in Ireland, banded together with his community in Valencia to clear debris from the city in Spain’s southeast – and likened it to an apocalypse The “apocalyptic” scenes after devastating floods in Spain have been laid bare by a clean up volunteer’s street level photographs, with the horrors of finding bodies still not over yet.

Expat Benen Wann, originally from Sligo in Ireland, offered to help in the clean up effort in Valencia when the city – like many parts of the south of Spain – was battered by torrential rain. The 27-year-old was shocked by what he saw when the floodwaters subsided, leaving a graveyard of vehicles, mangled children’s playgrounds and, of course, victims. “Bodies are still being recovered,” the bank customer service worker told the Daily Star after a day of trawling through the devastation, which he likened to something from post-apocalyptic movie The Road. The official death toll is at least 217 people, with dozens of others still unaccounted for. Almost all of the deaths occurred in the Valencia region and more than 60 in the suburb of Paiporta.

Benen, covered head to toe in mud and wearing a protective facemask, said: “It’s apocalyptic! There’s also just a sense of no actual organisation from anyone in authority (police/ government etc) so the onus was basically on the victims and anyone who volunteered to help.” Despite the alleged lack of help from authorities, he said the sense of community has been inspiring. “It was actually class to see everyone banding together in the face of such devastation,” he said.

However, the sense of public annoyance is pervasive. “The public are at odds with those in power presently. The King and PM showed up yesterday and were chased out,” he said.

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