Monday November 4 after one of the most catastrophic bridges for Valencia and for Spain. Nearly a week since the arrival and devastation of DANAthe situation at ground zero in the province continues to be dangerous. The wave of volunteers from neighboring areas does not stop despite the start of the working day in the rest of the community and authorities and emergency organizations are more and more frequent on its streets. Despite everything, the population of the most affected neighborhoods is very aware of the consequences of this atrocious storm. They summarize it like this: “We were left with nothing.”
The reality that exists in Paiporta, one of the most destroyed towns, “apocalypse zone” As some describe it, it is indeed like a movie. Six days since the beginning of the torment for the neighbors and they saw how everything they knew remained covered in mud and debris. “On the ground floor, not everything has survived, there is nothing left,” underlines one of the residents while remove mud from your gate.
The brutality of the water did little doors, blinds, windows and garages could keep itallowing his passage to the interiors and destroying everything in front of him. “In places the water reached more than 2.5 meters of water, imagine, everything that was there is no longer worth anything,” mentions a volunteer firefighter. The roads of Paiporta now resemble graveyards of memories of what was once a life. people like Josewho live on the ground floor, have almost no words to describe what they feel. He can barely articulate “We don’t know what to do.” They were able to save almost nothing from their house and everything in it is now ruined and numb in front of your gate.
Children help clear debris from homes and premises in Paiporta.
The Spanish
Just like there are hundreds of neighbors who lived in ground floor and I found myself with nothing, Hundreds of businessmen have lost their economic livelihoods, and therefore those of their workers. “Almost 100 percent of the businesses that were at street level were destroyed,” Juan says with a broom in hand and clearing rubble from his. Other owners prefer to be more specific: “We are lost, I don’t know how we will get back up”.
Business and ruin
It’s hard to walk through Paiporta and see a person standing. He sound of excavators, heavy machinery and footsteps in the mud This has become the new reality. Going for a coffee, going to the supermarket or the workshop has been replaced by stocking up at the nearest collection points, as sales and customer service are buried under layers and layers of mud. Wan, a woman of Chinese origin who runs a restaurant, lost “absolutely everything”. “We are without anything and we don’t know for how long.” The four members of his family tried to clean the place as best they could, but the traces of water exceeded two meters. “It’s the top floor and we did what we could, but the ground floor is still completely flooded“, he adds.
“The neighbors warned us so that we could close it and be able to save something, even if very little was saved,” reports his young son. The losses are “incalculable”. How is it calculated when you lose everything? This cannot be done. This family doesn’t know how to get through it or what will become of them, they “just hope to reopen as soon as possible”, he mentions with optimism. Other places located only 20 meters away did not have their “chance”, only the sign remains.
Member of the Military Police collaborating in Paiporta.
The Spanish
Young man cleaning the family business.
The Spanish
David was going to celebrate his company’s tenth anniversary when DANA took everything away from him. “COVID-19 is not up to par, it has no point of comparison.” The owner of a small painting and repair company faces losses of around 60,000 euros, six workers to support and two partners to manage.
“The storm left us nothing, all the paint and tools are no longer useful, only one car that we had outside the city survived. The warehouse, the office, the machines… everything was damaged.” They still don’t know how to proceed, “the first days were subsistence, first life and then work”, he says smiling after 5 days of clearing the rubble. In addition, “We’re going to have a lot to paint and repair with so much tragedy.”he said ironically.
Paiporta, Valencia
Dreams in the mud
indignation and sadness of the businessmen of Paiporta are more than obvious, just see the desolation on their faces when everything they managed to build over the years disappeared in a few hours. Many residents have chosen this city to start their business activity, like Fabiola, who nine months ago invested everything she had in the creation of a cafeteria. Six days after the disaster, count SPANISH with one of the rare beers he was able to salvage “All his dreams have turned to mud”.
Faced with the continued looting and theft attempts that took place in the nights following DANA, Fabiola’s family remains calm: “What will they steal from us if we lose everything? “What we had has become trash,” he said with a tear about to fall.
Fabiola and the little she recovered from her cafeteria.
The Spanish
Cata, Paula and José They are also mourning the loss of their businesses. Two companies, one cleaning and the other construction, are running out of materials to work with. “Our homes have been flooded and our cars are scrapped. We are completely paralyzed because we have no way of serving our customers.”
The uncertainty of businessmen
“We don’t know what we’re going to do.” This is the most candid statement regarding this situation from business owners who have contacted this newspaper. Their activity and economic livelihood are threatened by the devastation of the storm. The incessant cleaning efforts, the isolation of the people themselves and the lack of supplies mean that many have not even been able to contact their insurance companies. Other businessmen have left aside their activities on the outskirts, like Javier, who owns a plumbing company in the center of Valencia and did not hesitate for a second to leave his responsibilities aside to help Ground Zero: “The first thing is to help those who find themselves with nothing”.
