Tuesday October 29. At five o’clock in the afternoon, the Generality convenes a meeting of the Integrated Operational Coordination Center, with telematic presence of the Government delegatePilar Bernabé, raised the alert in the province due to the risk of flooding. It’s not until three o’clock later, when the Secretary of State for the Environment, Hugo Morantelephone contacts with the Minister of Justice and the Interior of the Valencian Government, Salome Pradas – also responsible for emergencies – to inform you of the worrying situation of the Forata Dam.
Specifically, according to informed sources, Morán told the advisor that I cannot assure you that the dam will resist. In other words: he recognizes that the dam can break at any moment. The reservoir is in a critical situation, scenario 3which literally means a “high probability of breakagewhich makes the occurrence of the flood wave generated by the breakdown or breakage practically inevitable. If this dam breaks, the consequences would be disastrous due to massive flooding in riverside towns in the region.
It’s eight o’clock in the afternoon. Pradas takes charge and informs the senior official of the Ministry of Teresa Ribera that appropriate measures will be taken. That’s when it starts sending telephone alert of Civil Protection to the population. This SMS, agreed within CECOPI – which includes, among others, the Government delegate -, according to these sources, arrives on the mobile devices of Valencians at 8:11 p.m. That is to say, just a few minutes after the Executive recognized the seriousness of the situation due to the high risk of the Forata dam.
The massive alert warned citizens, as a preventative measure, “to avoid any type of travel in the province of Valencia”, given the high probability that the dam will not be able to contain the water. Ultimately, this facility held up and managed to avert an even greater tragedy.
Government passivity
This notice from the Government, as this newspaper has learned, arrived at 8 p.m. During the day, and as OKDIARIO already reported this Wednesday, the Executive reacted passively in the face of the various alerts issued by the Hydrographic Confederation of Júcar.
The chain of emails between the Hydrographic Confederation – in charge of monitoring flows – and the Ministry of Ecological Transition reveals the inaction of the executive in a scenario of maximum tension, with the reservoir already at its limit.
Concretely, at 6:04 p.m., when the flood was already historic, one of the Confederation technicians sent a notification declaring scenario 2 of the Dam Emergency Plan. Almost half an hour later, at 6:29 p.m., the Ministry of Ecological Transition responded with another email, limited to confirming receipt of the shipment. “Scenario 2 declaration to Forata received” is briefly stated in said email, without further details.
This communication is sent by the General Directorate of Water, more precisely by Juan Carlos de Cea Azañedo, (Infrastructure and Operations Security Division) with a copy to Francisco José Hijós, Deputy Director General of Public Hydraulic and Infrastructure. Among those informed were also other officials from the Ministry of Ribera, such as Ana Villar Arrondo (Infrastructure and Operations Security Division) and Tomás Sancho (General Sub-Directorate of Public Domain and Infrastructure).
“Danger of breakage”
He “exceptional scenario or scenario 2” This implies that there is a risk of rupture or serious damage to the dam and it cannot be assured with certainty that the situation can be controlled by applying the available measures and means.
But gravity it went further throughout that fateful afternoon. Thus, around 7:30 p.m., the Hydrographic Confederation of Júcar warned that it was entering scenario 3.
At that time, the reservoir was already discharging 900,046 m3/s with a forecast of reaching 1,500 m3/s into the Magro River. An enormous scale. It’s only 8 p.m. when the Secretary of State for the Environment He contacted the advisor. AND The decision was then made to send the alert to the population.
Two hours of emptiness
This passivity with the Forata dam adds to the lack of attention to the Poyo ravinetrue ground zero of DANA and origin of the tragedy.
As also reported by this newspaper, the chain of emails sent throughout that day reveals that the Júcar Confederation reported, intermittently, on the evolution of the situation of the flow until issuing a definitive warning, at 6:43 p.m.while several towns were already flooded.
This communication was done via a simple email. One of the 130 who had been sent that day and the day before. He briefly reported an unstoppable flow, capable of destroying everything that preceded it: “Value of 1,686 m³/s greater than 150 m³/s with an upward trend at 6:40 p.m.”, we indicated in the email sent by the Confederation. at 112 of the Generalitat and also at the Government Delegation. The Generalitat emphasizes that “the logical thing” would have been to accompany this email with a telephone call to immediately alert of the seriousness of the situation in the ravine.
was not given no explanation Why from 4:13 p.m., when a value of “28.7 m³/s lower than 30 m³/s with a downward trend” was reported until 6:43 p.m., where it already reached “1,686 m³/s higher than 150 m³/s with an increasing trend” no notice has been sent.
