At least 52 people have died in eastern Spain after flash floods swept away cars, turned village streets into rivers and disrupted rail lines and highways in the worst natural disaster to hit the European nation in recent memory.

Emergency services in the eastern region of Valencia confirmed a death toll of 51 people on Wednesday. The central government office for Castilla La Mancha region added that an 88-year-old woman was found dead in the city of Cuenca.

Global environmental leaders gather Monday in Cali, Colombia to assess the world's plummeting biodiversity levels and commitments by countries to protect plants, animals and critical habitats.

The two-week United Nations Biodiversity Conference, or COP16, is a follow-up to the 2022 Montreal meetings where 196 countries signed a historic global treaty to protect biodiversity.