Valencia mourns

The region's worst storm this century leaves a trail of loss and heartbreak

Today, as the flood-water levels subside, Valencians in the towns, villages, and suburbs surrounding the city are sifting through the mud and debris of their destroyed homes. So far, 158 people are confirmed dead. Emergency services, police and sniffer dogs are out looking for dozens unaccounted for. Thousands of homes are without running water or electricity. Charities and groups of individuals are collecting water, medications and other necessities for those hit by the worst storm Valencia has suffered this century.

I’m not putting any images of the destruction in this post (the one above is royalty free from the EU’s Copernicus Sentinel-3) as I’m sure most people have seen pictures of the scale of the tragedy, and my heart can’t look at any more today. It feels almost surreal that such destruction and tragedy happened so close by, and yet the city itself escaped unharmed.

When we sat down for dinner in our kitchen on Tuesday night, we talked about how the storm that national weather agency Aemet had warned of didn’t seem too severe. It was windy and a dark sky had been flashing for hours with white sheets of lighting, but nothing to suggest the severity of what was happening just a short drive away in places like Paiporta, Utiel, Torrent and the suburb of Sedaví.

At 8.10pm our phones suddenly blew up with a Civil Protection alert saying that due to heavy rains people should avoid going anywhere in Valencia province.

This alert came many hours too late for those who were already outside or on the roads, or for people to evacuate or board up their homes. By 8pm, winds were ferocious and rivers and waterways had burst their banks and swept through streets. Annual levels of rainfall fell in just a few hours on some areas, which would have stretched the emergency services, timely alerts or not.

On Wednesday morning, people appealed for information about missing friends and relatives on live TV news and social media. Hundreds of videos and photos were posted of the devastation: senior citizens marooned in care homes in rising waters, people sitting on their car roofs in rising floods, being airlifted by helicopters, wandering desolately through banks of piled up vehicles.  

The appeals just kept coming. Valencia is a very family oriented society, so while younger family members often move to the city for work, many of their parents and grandparents and school friends still live in the surrounding villages.

Valencia mobilises again

This is the second tragedy to happen to Valencia this year. In February, a huge apartment building housing over 100 people caught on fire, killing 10. The response from citizens was instant, collecting clothes, toiletries, and money to help those who’d lost everything.

This same strong, heartfelt, and speedy reaction was immediately apparent on Wednesday morning. People didn’t wait, they started figuring out what was needed and organising how best to help. The 400+ members of a Valencian Women’s group I belong to came together within hours to share missing person appeals and information on how to donate money and physical items. Help was offered on every front, from locksmiths to industrial cleaning companies.

When I remarked on the panic-buying in the supermarkets in the city yesterday (our water was cut off for a few hours) a Spanish friend said, “people don’t trust the authorities.”

And people here rightfully are asking why the government’s “shelter at home” alert came so late (despite Aemet issuing a red weather alert on Tuesday morning) and why the emergency services were only mobilised later in the day when the situation was out of control. Carlos Mazón, the regional premier, said on camera at 6pm that the storm was expected to dissipate.

These storms, or “gota frias” (cold drops) as they are called, happen every Autumn here, when the colder air coming into the atmosphere meets the warmer layer rising up from the sea and causes heavy rain. Climate change has been increasing the intensity and frequency of the rains, which fell onto land heat-baked from the summer drought, heavily irrigated for agriculture and pressed into service for construction projects.

The last big storm in Valencia was in 1957, when the city’s River Turia burst its banks and caused 81 deaths. The Turia was then diverted and its former riverbed converted into one of the most beautiful urban parks in Spain. This saved the city from the floods this week, but is sadly no consolation for all the people contemplating their terrible loss today.