BBC Strictly's Gorka Marquez makes emotional statement on flash floods in Spain

Strictly professional Gorka Marquez has broken his silence on the widespread flash flooding which hit Valencia in Spain. Up to 95 lives have been claimed and it is feared that the death toll could rise substantially. Gorka, who was born in the north of Spain, joined Strictly in 2016 and started dance lessons when he was just 12 years old.

Taking to Instagram , he re-shared an image showing the extent of the flooding and added the caption: "Valencia. The city where I lived when I was 16 and to which I owe a lot..



.my heart goes out to all those affected." Footage of the affected areas show destruction on a "biblical scale", with residants saying that the disaster struck with the “suddenness of a tsunami”.

Provinces of Cuenca and Albacete, as well as the Castilla-La Mancha region, are also some of the worst hit areas. A 71-year-old Briton is confirmed to have died in Alhaurín de la Torre. Spain has experienced similar storms in recent years, but scientists are claiming that serious flash floodings are likely linked to climate change.

José Antonio Zarzalejos wrote in El Confidencial newspaper: “So much tragedy cannot be understood without so much incompetence, without the systemic failure of the labyrinthine mechanisms of a pretentious civil protection policy that has not served to alleviate the tragic proportions of the tragedy." Gorka has also been the latest professional to be eliminated from Strictly Come Dancing alongside TV medic Dr Punam Krishan . Last weekend, he left the competition after facing Shayne Ward and Nancy Xu in the dance off, with all of the judges opting to save the former ' Coronation Street ' actor.

After Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse and Anton Du Beke all confirmed they were voting for Shayne and Nancy's Paso Doble over Punam and Gorka's Tango, head judge Shirley Ballas agreed she would have chosen in the same way. Gorka heaped praise on the GP for how much Punam had progressed during their short time on the BBC show together. He said: “It's been incredible, it's been a fantastic six weeks.

I'm very proud of what she has achieved. She's a GP and a Mum. She had never danced before and I think she improved week by week.

"I think she is truly what the show is about, someone who doesn't have experience in the performance world came here and learnt to dance. She wanted to do so well and worked so hard.".