Guardia Civil confirmed that the body was found in the Canal de la Reina in San Fulgencio, a town in the Vega Baja region of Alicante that was among the worst affected by the storms.

The man, who has not been publically named, was swept away by strong currents in rising floodwater on Sunday afternoon, and became the seventh victim of the “gota fria”.

The alarm was raised on Sunday after a man was sucked into flood water in a canal at Dolores, a town 40 kilometres (25 miles) southeast of Alicante.

The body, matching a description by the Dutchman's family, was recovered in San Fulgencio village several kilometres (miles) away, said a central governent spokesman in the region.

Southeastern Spain has been battered since Thursday by torrential rains, causing huge flooding and chaos on the roads in several provinces, leaving many areas cut off.

The cold front and ensuing storms are the worst in 140 years according to official weather sources. Rivers burst their banks, towns and villages were and remain flooded and thousands have been displaced.

At least 30,000 hectares of agricultural land has been destroyed across Valencia, Alicante, Murcia and also further inland in Albacete.

READ MORE: Satellite images reveal how the worst storms in Spain in 140 years have flooded the land