A convoy of sixty firefighters of Catalonia will leave this Friday afternoon for Valencian Community work in the areas most affected by the DANAwhich has already left more than 200 dead and dozens missing. Among its functions will be those of clearing the roads, as well as free the deceased from the vehicles who were trapped by the waterspouts. The contingent, which will remain in the community at least until next Monday, is made up of members of the Special Actions Group (GRAE), as well as active forest prevention teams and the operational support group. As detailed by the Corps, aid was routed through the National Emergency Monitoring and Coordination Center.
Since yesterday, a group of seven police officers, in their case volunteers, who joined the local police and civil guards, have been present on site to distribute essential equipment to Paiporta. This morning, one of them, Albert Palacio, detailed to ABC that they had still not received generators, and that the coordination remains chaotic.
On the last day, the Catalan police officers joined the work to allow the municipal auditorium from Paiporta, the territory most affected by the storm, to be able to distribute from there food, blankets and water. “It is the citizens themselves who come to bring the material,” underlined Palacio. The despair of the volunteers increased as night fell, due to lack of resources. Also taking into account the possibility of seeing how the looting could be repeated, which yesterday resulted in 60 arrests.
Which started 1 hour ago @Copland_CCA The distribution of water and food having become the distribution center of the door handle, everything that is received comes from individuals, nothing at all from any administration, it is regrettable, they only serve to talk and to lie. pic.twitter.com/bC0xrRL8kO
– Albert Palacio (@URpmn) October 31, 2024
The center that the mossos, under the association Coplandwith the local police and the civil guard, deployed in the auditorium, it became “neural space” for clothing and food distribution. “People from neighboring towns are mobilized, but the organization is disastrous. Someone needs to organize access and exit routes. Emergency teams have to travel, and that’s impossible. “They are very late,” lamented Palacio with despair.
Queues for affected people to get food were “huge” yesterday, the volunteer noted. “The administration is neither there nor expected. “It’s horrible,” he complains.
