The impact on agricultural output from the affected areas will be significant, in the short ter, but also potentially the medium term, as farmers say some trees will have been below water for so long that they are likely to suffer rot and disease, and may need to be replanted entirely.
That said, it's important for those outside Spain to understand the different meanings of 'Valencia'. It's a city - some suburbs of which in particular were badly hit - a province, but also used as shorthand for 'la Comunidad Valenciana', a region made up of three provinces.
That whole region is Spain's (and Europe's) leading citrus-growing area, producing some 60% of Spain's citrus crop. However, the area affected by the flooding is around 50,000 Ha out of 180,000 or so. So it's maybe 15-20% of the country's actual crop. It's not as if 'there will be no oranges from Spain', or even the Valencia Region this year. I live in Alicante province, the southernmost of the three in the region, and am surrounded by citrus plantations which simply received a couple of days of moderate-to-heavy rainfall.
Nonetheless the message is a stark one - whether it's drought or flooding, extreme weather is making it far harder to predict and control the yearly harvest volumes of many crops on which Europe depends, as Spain is the leading producer in all kinds of categories, the continent's fruit and veg basket.
Another important point about infrastructure is that this was the greatest test thus far of the artificial channel rerouting the River Turia from the centre of the city, a project undertaken in the 1970s after the devastating floods of the 50s. It was a massive undertaking, with huge social and financial impacts. But it was seen as necessary, and it was done. And it worked. The concrete channel skirting the city with motorways either side normally looks absurd, with a tiny trickle of water along its central course. Last week it just about handled the floodwater flow of 6,000 cubic metres per second, overflowing somewhat onto a couple of lanes of roadway.
A lot more infrastructure like that - including the relocation of entire city districts or towns, potentially - will be needed.
Political will permitting. Ay, there's the rub...
