The UME rescues by helicopter residents stuck in their homes due to the overflowing of the Magro river in Utiel (Valencia)

The overflow of Magro River Due to the strong DANA which hits the Valencian Community with force this Tuesday, it leaves unusual images.

The UME was activated at the request of the Generalitat Valenciana to act in the Utiel area, which was one of the most affected, with the city practically flooded and inaccessible by land.

SO, Special Emergency Unit helicopter rescues neighbors from their homescompletely drowned by water. The force of the water carried cars and street furniture with it.

The mayor of the town, Ricardo Gabaldonin statements to In Puntconsidered the situation critical and called on residents not to leave their homes.

The Emergency Coordination Center (ECC) advised the population to stay away from areas near the river and issued a special hydrological alert due to the increased flow of the Magro River.

Likewise, all the municipalities bordering the Magro River and the Júcar River have been notified, from Algemesí to the mouth of Cullera.

This increased flow means widespread overflows could occur in neighboring areas.

The Valencian Meteorological Association (Avamet) reported a few minutes before 5 p.m. that in Requena the levels of 302.4 liters per square meter had been reached. The situation in the Utiel-Requena area is “historic”, according to the network.

In Utiel, the Magro river “is completely overflowing”, after having exceeded 240 liters per square meter, the rainiest day since records began.

The Emergency Coordination Center has declared a Level 2 emergency in the region.

For its part, the V-990 helicopter of the Valencia Fire Brigade Consortium is working on rescue operations in the Utiel area, given the difficulty of access by land.

Additionally, due to the storm, traffic between Buñol and Utiel was interrupted, Renfe reported. Due to poor road conditions, it is not possible to establish an alternative service.

Cécopi

The Generalitat convened the CECOPI (Integrated Operational Coordination Center) within the Emergency Coordination Center to direct the monitoring of actions due to the rainy season.

The Minister of Justice and the Interior, Salome Pradasexplained that “the provincial, local and regional emergency services, in coordination with the General Administration of the State, remain on maximum alert to be able to act and minimize the effects of the rains in the Valencian Community”

Throughout the day, resources were mobilized to deal with the incidents that occurred in the municipalities of the Valencian Community and more than five hundred calls were received through the emergency telephone number.

The storm caused incidents on 21 roads in the road network, the total closure of the ports of Valencia and Sagunto and the impact of several lines of the Generalitat railways (total cut of Alginet-Castello, flooded track in Carlet , traffic slowdown at Godella – Rocafort) and delays on lines 1 of Valencia-Lliria and 2 of Valencia-Bétera).

Among some of the operations carried out, Minister Pradas cited the rescues in the Ribera Alta region, mainly involving stuck cars or people asking for help to leave their homes.

In addition, elderly people from a care home in Carlet had to be relocated to other rooms due to flooding in one of the pavilions.

The Minister of Justice and the Interior called for caution and asked people to avoid travel and follow the recommendations of emergency services. Likewise, he referred to the social networks of telephone 112 to receive timely and updated information on the evolution of the storm.