Emergency responders are searching for bodies inside stranded cars and buildings following deadly flash floods in Spain that have killed at least 158 people.

Scenes of destruction have been left in the wake of the powerful floodwaters which hit the east of the country late on Tuesday and early Wednesday, marking Spain‘s worst natural disaster this century.

Cars have been piled high on top of each other, homes and businesses have been swept away, trees have been uprooted, and roads and bridges have been left unrecognisable.

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At least 92 people have died in the worst-hit region of Valencia, while deaths were also reported in Castilla La Mancha and southern Andalusia.

An unknown number of people remain missing.

“Unfortunately, there are dead people inside some vehicles,” Spain’s transport minister Oscar Puente said.

In the Valencian district of La Torre, nine dead bodies were discovered inside a garage – with a local police officer among the victims.

Luis Sanchez, a welder, said he saved several people from floodwaters rushing through the V-31 motorway south of Valencia city.

“I saw bodies floating past. I called out but nothing,” Mr Sanchez said.

“The firefighters took the elderly first, when they could get in. I am from nearby so I tried to help and rescue people. People were crying all over, they were trapped.”

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Satellite images from NASA show how severe flooding has impacted Valencia and its surrounding towns.

The images, captured on 30 October, show large areas to the south of the city covered in floodwater.

The Turia river, which runs through the city, can be seen at a much higher level.

The Pobles del Sud, a large lake nearby, overflowed. Much of the area surrounding the lake was covered in floodwater.

The worst of the destruction was concentrated in Paiporta, a municipality next to Valencia city, where 62 people have been reported dead.

Mayor Maribel Albalat told national broadcaster RTVE: “We found a lot of elderly people in the town centre. There were also a lot of people who came to get their cars out of their garages… it was a real trap.”

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Thursday morning that Valencia had been declared a disaster zone and that the priority was to find victims and missing people.

He also urged those affected to stay at home as more torrential rain was forecast.

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“The most important thing is that I know Spanish people are aware that this phenomenon has not finished,” he said.

Sky News’ Europe correspondent Adam Parsons, reporting from Valencia, said the devastation suffered in the region is “enormous”.

“What we’re witnessing now are the locals here who are waking up and seeing what’s happened to their town and what has happened is something almost apocalyptic,” he said.

A nearby shop was left “absolutely wrecked” and looked like a “bomb has gone off in there”, he added.

Three days of mourning has been declared in Spain, beginning on Thursday.

Spain’s Mediterranean coast is used to autumn storms that can cause flooding, but this was the most powerful flash flood event in recent memory, and scientists have linked its strength to climate change.

In the Spanish town of Algemesi, people are angry.

The suburb of Raval was one of the worst hit by flash flooding but residents feel abandoned.

At least 158 people have been killed in the disaster in eastern Spain – with the worst of the flooding concentrated around the Valencia region.

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“When the alert came the water was already two metres high,” Carolina shouts from her balcony. “There were no police, firefighters or the mayor. No one came to rescue us.”

The distress is echoed street after street.

Carmen puts her head in her hands and weeps.

“They have lost everything,” she says, pointing at her neighbours’ houses.

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Every home is in ruins and their owners are heartbroken.

Dolores shows us inside her house. She says the flood was up to the ceiling but because no help came, they have had to hammer holes in the walls to clear the water.

“I feel awful. I’m terrified and very afraid. My husband is sick – we need more help,” she says.

The level of destruction is immense.

On the street, we meet Noel with his children. The youngest toddler barefoot in the mud.

Yesterday, Noel and his wife had nothing to eat. He feels helpless.

“Right now, there are people who are trapped. The mud is up to their waists, so they can’t open their doors,” he says.

“I live on a high floor so I didn’t have problems with the flooding in my home, but I don’t have water, light, or food.”

There’s a growing feeling of desperation in this suburb.

At one point, someone shouts “food!” and people rush to grab what they can from a nearby shop.

It’s not clear if they have been let in by the owner or are looting.

The devastation is so great and at a time when people are at their most in need, they feel frustrated and alone.

In a nearby shelter we meet people from Algemesi who have been made homeless by the flood.

Carol says she has never felt so hopeless.

“There was a tree trunk that came into the front of my house. There are no walls, no ceiling. I don’t have anything. There’s nothing left,” she explains, beginning to cry.

For many, the initial trauma of this natural disaster has been compounded in the aftermath by a feeling of loss and loneliness.

A British charity is calling on the UK government to facilitate the urgent evacuation of 21 critically ill children from a besieged hospital in northern Gaza.

The Kamal Adwan Hospital was recently raided by Israeli soldiers and many of the medical staff detained.

Only two doctors remain to care for more than 150 patients, there is a severe lack of medical supplies, and the surgical facilities no longer function.

The hospital was hit by another airstrike in the early hours of Thursday morning, destroying much of the third floor.

The Israel Defence Forces claims Hamas fighters have been hiding and operating from the Kamal Adwan Hospital, which is in the Jabaliya refugee camp, and released a video showing weapons it says it found in the compound.

The hospital denies any Hamas presence.

The charity, Project Pure Hope, said: “We are witnessing a humanitarian disaster of historic proportions.”

It added: “These 21 children, including two in neonatal ICU and two in paediatric ICU, face life-threatening conditions.

“With each passing hour, the children’s chance of survival diminishes without advanced medical intervention – intervention that cannot be provided under the hospital’s current, catastrophic conditions.”

The charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders), said it is “deeply concerned” for the safety of one of its staff members who has been arrested. The fate of many of the hospital’s staff is unknown.

Sky News reported on the dire conditions inside the hospital on Tuesday.

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This week, Project Pure Hope says it held a meeting with the Foreign Office on Tuesday after lobbying the UK government for months to support a plan for evacuations.

Other countries, including Italy, the US, Switzerland, Ireland and the UAE have taken in children.

The charity has raised sufficient money to fund the costs and developed partnerships with UK hospitals but, so far, it says the government has refused to accept any patients.

It said in a statement on Thursday: “While other countries… have opened their doors to these paediatric cases, the UK remains a notable outlier, having yet to implement any such programme.”

The Israeli military operation in northern Gaza has cut the area off from the rest of the strip.

Little aid is getting in, and civilian casualties are rising.

Aid agencies have warned of the risk of famine, and rescue workers are often unable to reach the sites of airstrikes.

Sky News has asked the Foreign Office for a comment.