Body found of ex-pat missing in flash floods

Diana Dudas, 52, was reported missing in the town of Vera, Almeria, after torrential rain hit the area leaving at least 10 others dead.

Hundreds of people were forced to leave their homes after torrential rain led to flash flooding in the Andalucian provinces of Malaga, Almeria and Murcia.

Friend and fellow ex-pat Genny Sutcliffe, 56, said Mrs Dudas had a Spanish husband, Javier, and had lived in Spain for many years.

“I was told that her body was found washed up in the lagoon. I’m not sure exactly when it was that she went missing, but the heavy rain started on Thursday night.”

Mrs Dudas had her own holistic therapy clinic and hairdressers in the town and had just written a book.

She added: “She was absolutely lovely, very warm, very caring and with a great sense of humour. We are absolutely devastated.”

Mrs Sutcliffe said her own home had not been affected by the flooding as she lived on higher ground.

“The devastation in that area is horrendous,” she added. “I saw a house that had a car that had been swept into its front garden and a car in its back garden.

“A lot of people aren’t going to be able to return to their homes for months.”

A spokeswoman for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said it was looking into the incident and liaising with local authorities.

Hundreds of people have been evacuated from their homes in the Andalucian provinces of Malaga, Almeria and Murcia after heavy downpours.

Those who have died include two children who were found drowned in a car in Puerto Lumbreras in Murcia, Spanish national radio reported, while it said an elderly man was found dead near the town’s cemetery.

Five other people originally declared missing have been found alive. The heavy rain follows months of drought and soaring summer temperatures which helped trigger more than 12,000 wildfires this year.