Rescuers have resumed a grim search for bodies as Spain scrambled to organise aid to stricken citizens following devastating floods that have killed more than 200 people.
Hopes of finding survivors more than three days after torrents of mud-filled water submerged towns and wrecked infrastructure were slim in the European country's deadliest such disaster in decades.
Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said 10,000 more troops and police officers will be deployed to the eastern Valencia region.
Mr Sanchez said in a televised address that he accepted the regional leader's request for 5,000 more troops and informed him of a further deployment of 5,000 police officers and civil guards. as he confirmed the death toll had climbed to 211.
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Almost all deaths have been recorded in the eastern Valencia region where thousands of soldiers, police officers and civil guards were frantically clearing debris and mud in the search for bodies.
Officials have said that dozens of people remain unaccounted for, but establishing a precise figure is difficult with telephone and transport networks severely damaged.
It is also hoped that the estimated number of missing people will fall once telephone and internet services are running again.
Restoring order and distributing aid to destroyed towns and villages - some of which have been cut off from food, water and power for days - is a priority.
Authorities have come under fire over the adequacy of warning systems before the floods, and some residents have also complained that the response to the disaster is too slow.
Susana Camarero, deputy head of the Valencia region, told journalists today that essential supplies had been delivered "from day one" to all accessible settlements.
But it was "logical" that affected residents were asking for more, she added.
Read more: Before and after satellite images show Spain devastation
Authorities in Valencia have restricted access to roads for two days to allow emergency services to carry out search, rescue and logistics operations more effectively.
'Overwhelmed' by solidarity
Thousands of ordinary citizens pushing shopping trolleys and carrying cleaning equipment took to the streets on Friday to help with the effort to clean up.
Camarero said some municipalities were "overwhelmed by the amount of solidarity and food" they had received.
The surge of solidarity continued today as around 1,000 people set off from the Mediterranean coastal city of Valencia towards nearby towns laid waste by the floods, an AFP journalist saw.
Authorities have urged them to stay at home to avoid congestion on the roads that would hamper the work of emergency services.
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez chaired a meeting of a crisis committee made up of top cabinet members on Saturday and is due to address the country later.
The storm that sparked the floods on Tuesday formed as cold air moved over the warm waters of the Mediterranean and is common for this time of year.
But scientists warn that climate change driven by human activity is increasing the ferocity, length and frequency of such extreme weather events.
