According to a report by Reuters: “Rescuers using dinghies worked in the dark to scour the floodwaters, rescuing several people, television pictures from the town of Utiel showed, and emergency services were still working to reach the worst-hit areas”.

Carlos Mazon, the regional leader of Valencia, 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".

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.

Firefighters could be seen freeing drivers whose cars were stranded in flooded streets in the town of Alzira, online videos showed.

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