Parts of Spain have been devastated by flooding, as a year’s worth rain fell in eight hours in Valencia on Tuesday.

Authorities announced on Thursday afternoon the death toll has risen to 158, as the search for missing people continues.

Cars, bridges and buildings were swept away and metro stations filled with water in the eastern province. Vast swathes of agricultural land have been flooded, with crops destroyed and livestock killed.

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has urged people in the eastern Valencia province and Castellón to stay at home.

A second weather alert has been issued for Castellón, north of the province of Valencia, tonight and a lesser warning for the city of Tarragona.

The branch of Spain’s weather forecaster Amete in Valencia said the emergency is not over, with current conditions likely to continue throughout the week.

“The meteorological emergency is not over. The storm is still over Spain. There are very intense storms, yesterday in Andalusia, today in Castellón. We are going to continue like this for most of the week.

“The worst day of the storm was Tuesday, but adverse phenomena will continue to occur throughout the week,” the statement added.

Farmers

Dead livestock in the province of Valencia have been reported by Reuters, with 50 pigs dead on one farm.

The storm has also wreaked havoc on Spain’s fruit production. Valencia accounts for two-thirds of Spain’s citrus fruit. Farmers saying they will lose this crop in the worst affected areas with fields totally submerged by water.

The Union of Small Farmers and Ranchers (UPA) said the effects of the storm are an "unprecedented human disaster".

The organisation asked for patience to assess damage in the countryside and advised against travelling to farms to check their condition.

The UPA added that farmers are working in their tractors with authorities to help clear and unblock streets and roads.

Valencia City

An Irish woman living in Valencia City told the Irish Farmers Journal that while the city centre remains relatively calm, 4km or 5km away there were "disaster zones”.

“We will all probably batten down the hatches now tonight [Thursday], just given the scale of what happened on Tuesday night. It’s fairly scary,” she added.

In the 1950s, following disastrous flooding in the city centre, the Turia River was rerouted to prevent flooding in the city.