Telefonica chair and CEO Jose Maria Alvarez-Pallete revealed more than 250 base stations were affected by deadly flash flooding in the Valencia region of Spain as he issued a note of thanks to teams working to restore connectivity and offer other aid.

Alvarez-Pallete explained several nodes of Telefonica’s network had also been impacted or taken out of action by the event last week, along with a number of fibre exchanges and some of the fixed line network.

The executive praised the response of staff, who he said were among the first to mobilise to offer assistance to local authorities and restore its service.

“I can’t find the words to express our gratitude”.

“There are moments that define us and this undoubtedly is one of those moments”.

Much of the affected infrastructure has since been repaired, he said, a boon at a time when access to communications is at a premium.

Alvarez-Pallete used the note to rally staff, explaining the natural disaster showed they “are needed” and asking for continued efforts to assist those affected.

“We have to restore service and go beyond”, the executive said, explaining the event is one to which people “cannot remain indifferent”.