OVIEDO, Spain

The head of Spain’s Military Emergencies Unit (UME) announced on Monday that authorities have prepared morgues for 400 victims of the devastating Valencia floods.

The latest official death toll for the worst natural disaster in modern Spanish history is 217, and authorities have still refused to give a figure for the number of missing.

“We originally had a morgue for 100 dead, but we quickly saw it wouldn’t be enough. I don't want to be unpleasant, but today we have a morgue ready for 400 dead. They are not in normal conditions, you can imagine, as they drowned. So they need a dignified space,” said UME chief Francisco Javier Marcos in a press conference.

By Monday night, six days after the historic floods, 7,800 military personnel will be deployed in the area.

He explained the military’s top priority continues to be searching for and rescuing missing people. The next priority is finding the bodies of the victims.

“Believe me when I say these are difficult situations,” he said emotionally before mentioning the underground parking lot at a large mall in one of the most affected areas.

“We are looking into the garage, but there are millions of liters of water,” he said, adding they are working in dozens of other garages. Earlier in the day, authorities said they had examined 50 cars in the mall’s parking space without finding any victims.

The military is also helping open roads, where an estimated 100,000 cars are strewn about, offering aid to victims, and monitoring the hygiene in areas at risk of disease or poor drinking water.

Facing criticism over the failure to alert victims about the catastrophe before it was too late and for the delayed response time, Marcos held a press conference to explain military actions.

“This situation is so complex that we require two things: to be disciplined and patient,” he said, acknowledging the pain of the victims. “But please understand, we are doing everything we can.”

He explained that the military was legally unable to act until the government of the region of Valencia gave the orders.

“The day the emergency occurred, we were watching the meteorological situation … when I saw what could happen ... I immediately ordered all the soldiers at a base around the area to get prepared … as soon as the Valencian government gave us the green light, we were there in a matter of minutes,” he said.

But he also defended the overall response, saying: “With the pain of those affected in mind, I believe the procedure was correct.”

Valencian President Carlos Mazon of the Popular Party has defended his management of the crisis, shifting blame onto the UME and Spain’s hydrographic confederation for the delayed – and slow – response.

The national head of Spain’s Popular Party, Alberto Nunez Feijoo, urged the progressive government to declare a state of emergency. Doing so would shift control from the regional government to Madrid.

“We need to do better,” Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez admitted on Saturday. He, however, dismissed taking over control as he argued it was better to work with local authorities.