The Ministry of Ecological Transition (Miteco) and the State Meteorological Agency presented on Saturday the serious accusations and lies made by the President of the Valencian Government, Carlos Mazón, during his appearance at the Corts this Friday, during which the self-criticism and taking responsibility were null and void and in which he devoted himself to shifting much of the responsibility for his disastrous management onto other entities dependent on the government such as Aemet itself or the Hydrographic Confederation of Júcar (CHJ).
One of the most blatant, according to Miteco, is the one mentioned during his trip to the Integrated Operational Coordination Center: “When I was warned that the situation at the Forata dam was getting worse, I went to the Center of Emergency Coordination. where Cecopi was established and worked. Around 7:45 p.m., in Cecopi, the Confederation reported that the situation in Forata could worsen,” Mazón said on Friday.
However, Miteco sources assured that at 5:26 p.m. Cecopi was already talking about the critical situation of the Forata dam and was beginning to consider taking action. At 5:36 p.m., there was already talk of the possible rupture of the reservoir, with Mazón nowhere to be found and in the middle of lunch with a Valencian journalist at the Ventorro restaurant.
This information agrees with that put forward by this newspaper concerning the 62 emails that the CHJ sent to the Civil Protection of the Generalitat while Mazón was eating. Among them, there is one at 5:04 p.m. in which scenario 2 is declared, which implies risks of breakage or very serious breakdown. Still at 5:23 p.m., 5:54 p.m. and 6:33 p.m. there are new alerts due to drainage.
As this editorial team has already reported, after 6:00 p.m. the president of the Hydrographic Confederation of Júcar, Miguel Polo, has already put on the table the possibility of sending “massive alerts to the entire population”, approximately two hours before 8:00 p.m.: It was 12 p.m. when the Es-alert system was finally activated, sending the warning message to all cell phones in the province of Valencia.
Chronology, according to Miteco and Aemet
5 p.m. to 6 p.m.: Nothing was decided at CECOPI, according to sources present at the meeting.
5:30 p.m.: Discussions begin on the risk of rupture of the Forata dam. River overflow warnings are also cited, these sources add.
6 p.m. to 7 p.m.: CECOPI was paralyzed. There was no intervention, according to sources consulted by elDiario.es.
7:12 p.m.: The Es-Alert system is beginning to be considered. There is debate about what to include in message content, these same sources influence.
7:45 p.m.: Carlos Mazón arrives at the Emergency Coordination Center of L’Eliana at this time.
8:11 p.m.: The Generalitat sends an SMS alert to residents so that they do not go out into the streets or travel within the province.
