Spectacular images of a Valencian highway collapsed due to the passage of water left by storm DANA

The province of Valencia is plunged into chaos after the passage of the storm. DANA. Many roads are still closed and as testimonies tell EL ESPAÑOL, the panorama is “Sorry”: from cracks in the asphalt to mountains of stuck cars and bridges that could not withstand the force of the water.

This is the case of the bridge which connects Torrent to Valencia, which collapsed in the early morning.. “There is no longer a standing bridge in Picanya that I see, neither the pedestrian nor the two others where the vehicles pass”, explains a man in a video published by In Punt.

Since Wednesday morning, the Generalitat Valenciana, through the Emergency Coordination Center, has sent a new notice to the population to inform residents to avoid traveling by road. Likewise, up to 51 deaths have been confirmed.

The images left by the cold drop were heartbreaking. According to Aemet, this is the worst cold spell of the century experienced by the Valencian Community.

More than a meter of water, overturned cars and mud covering everything. José hasn’t even been able to rest, but he tries not to think about it. “They will come and get us when necessary,” he laments to EL ESPAÑOL.

Members of all units of the Military Emergency Unit (UME) are deployed in the province of Valencia and plan to continue this Wednesday with evacuation, search for missing persons and bail work.

“Always serve until necessary,” the Defense Ministry said in a post on the social network. xcollected by Europe Press.

The ministry led by Margarita Robles showed its desolation at the situation in the areas affected by DANA. “Our deepest condolences for the deceased. From the Ministry of Defense, we stand with them and with all citizens to help them in this tragedy,” the ministry noted.

DANA “historical”

The Valencian Community is once again reliving the nightmare of the effects left by the torrential storms in this Mediterranean area, with devastating effects in human lives and material losses.

From the flood of 1957 and the Tous “marsh” from 1982 to “the worst” cold drop of the century -as described in DANA this Tuesday by Aemet- which has already caused at least fifty deaths.

The National Meteorological Agency warns in this regard that the precipitation regime is changing in the Valencian Community: “more torrential and short-term rains”.

It can rain the same annual volume, or even a little more, but in a different way, in fewer days of precipitation. A rain event is considered torrential when it dumps more than 60 liters per square meter, he reports.

The DANA of October 29, 2024 will be remembered as “historic” due to the virulence of the rain, with images of hundreds of people stuck in their homes, on the roofs of cars, in polygons.

Even overflowing ravines and closed roads that prevent emergency services from accessing flooded areas.

These snapshots recall the flood of 1957, when an extraordinary flood strongly affected the middle and lower basin of the Turia River, with precipitation exceeding 100 mm in 24 hours.

Two overflows plunged the city into disaster, with 81 victims, thousands of victims and considerable material damage.

However, the creation of the new Turia canal, framed by the actions of the so-called Southern Plan, prevented a new flood like that of 1957 in Valencia.

From a hydrological point of view, it is the last stretch of the river, Quart de Poblet to the mouth of the Mediterranean Sea, which has an evacuation capacity of 5,000 cubic meters per second,

As reported by the Hydrographic Confederation of Júcar (CHJ), the new Turia canal drained “without problem” two peaks of 2,000 square meters per second, due to rains of between 300 and 400 liters per square meter.

Thus, the amount of precipitation that fell on Chiva (Valencia) around 10:00 p.m. this Tuesday has already recorded 445.4 l/m2.