This is how we told the tragedy of DANA

On the afternoon of October 29, tragedy began to unfold in the Valencian Community. Rodrigo Blázquez opened the 8 p.m. news with a sentence that marked the beginning of historic coverage: ““It was a very complicated afternoon.”. As soon as the first images of the disaster arrived, laSexta reacted quickly: the television news, from the set, recounted the devastating effects of DANA, then laSexta Clave continued.

The next day, Antonio García Ferreras described the phenomenon in Al Rojo Vivo as “the most brutal cold fall in the history of Spain”. Since then, the channel has deployed all its resources: ground teams, aerial shots which showed the scale of the disaster and constant updates with data from official sources.

The official toll stands at more than 200 dead. But behind this number were faces, stories and a society trying to rise. laSexta accompanied the volunteer caravans which flooded the most affected municipalities.

November 3 The kings of Spain and representatives of central and regional governments visited Paiporta. It was a visit marked by controversybut also a symbol of support for those affected. laSexta was there, as at every key moment, reporting live on each step of the authorities.

The search for answers also featured prominently. What happened that night? Could anything have been done to lessen the impact? Carlos Mazón, president of the Generalitat Valenciana, was the protagonist of headlines like that of Ferreras in Al Rojo Vivo on November 12: “He doesn’t answer because he was missing”.

The tragedy is not just measured in numbers. laSexta went house by house, city by city, to collect the stories of those who lost everything or managed to save the minimum. In programs like laSexta Xplica, moments of solidarity have even emerged, such as the delivery of an apartment in Catarroja to one of the affected people.

From the first day, laSexta has been with Valencia. And it will continue until every corner affected by the worst disaster in our history manages to recover. Because, as we learned with those involved, every story matters, every life matters.