Paiporta was shaken by the terrible DANA which devastated the Valencian Community last Tuesday. This city is one of the zero points after the flood. Everything was destroyed. And also its football field. OKDIARIO was able to speak with Hector Blatdeputy sports director of Paiporta CF. He kindly helps us get home after spending all day bringing food, water, and helping clean up the townspeople. He gives us the harsh testimony of a destroyed city and a football team now “drifting”.
Paiporta It will take a long time to recover from this tragedy. One of the most serious in the history of Spain. Deaths already exceed 200 and this city has undoubtedly been one of the worst affected. Everything is destroyed.
In OKDIARIO We were able to speak with the sports director of Paiporta CFHéctor Blat, who told us how his football field was. The images are terrible: “The damage to the football field is more serious than expected. The water has almost reached three meters, which means the office is flooded, the locker room is flooded and the grass is still not visible because the water level is very high. “The walls have fallen too.”
A testimony that Blat He tells us after spending the whole day helping the inhabitants of Paiporta. Clean and transport food and water. He returns dismayed by the harsh reality they will face, but determined to be able to help his women’s team in any way possible.
The harsh testimony of Paiporta CF
“Luckily, to say the least, it appears that the stand was not damaged. Until the water disappears, we won’t be able to see it. I think it will be difficult for us to return to the same area… We cannot give a time estimate because you never know, but it will cost”, they told us since Paiporta CF.
The first team of Paiporta CF plays in the Primera Valenciana and today it is not known if they will be able to compete again: “We don’t know if this season we will be able to play at home again. We have the first team, then the women’s amateur, we have the school… it will be very difficult to know if we will be able to play at home again. Mainly because of the grass problem. If they have to put in new grass, it takes time and I don’t think it will be momentary, because the city is destroyed“.
“The land belongs to the Federation, but it is also managed by the Town Hall. This would not be an expense we would incur, although we will help in any way we can. But economically, it is a difficulty, especially for all the families who pay their children’s school fees or for the members we have who pay for their passes. The majority of people are from Paiporta and have lost everything. We don’t know how high the economic dimensions can go,” he told us. Hector Blat has OKDIARIO.
DANA destroys the province of Valencia
“Right now, no one here is thinking about football. Not when you have to replay or anything. It’s another thing, they postponed this weekend’s game, but next week there’s a game and we don’t know where we’re going to play or anything. The games that are played outside of school without any problem, but the ones that we play at home, we do not know them. Because the fields of the surrounding communities which could have a field to leave us are the same. And then the damage that the players may have suffered, that they may have lost everything. We are drifting», tells us the deputy sports director of the Paiporta CF.
Fortunately, no one in the club lost their lives. own Hector Blat He tells us that he himself contacted everyone, one by one, to check that everyone was well. They are a family and now they will be closer than ever: “We don’t think so. At 95%, the entire club has already been verified. Since all this happened, I personally took it upon myself to collect all the numbers and check them one by one. We don’t think the remaining 5% are dangerous because they are people who either live in a very high place or are directly people that another player told us they saw on the street. It is difficult to take stock because there is no coverage. The data and coverage doesn’t go there because The water washed away the antennas and everything in front. Most people don’t have electricity either.. With the phones turned off, it’s difficult to contact everyone. “I believe that we will not have to regret human lives or material damage.”
“The sports director spent seven hours with his son on the roof of a lighthouse on the edge. The vice president had to climb out of the car window because the water was coming at him. But all this remains a fright. They had a really bad time. Like a player we have who was on the verge of losing her life and this Thursday she was handing out water and food. Because at work he had to go out through the roof because the water was up to his neck. But they suffered no physical damage. We also had a bit of a scare with someone who didn’t show up, but then we found him. He was simply at home, but he was incommunicado. When we were able to reach his street, which was one of the most affected, we found him”, they tell us from the Paiporta CF with a heavy heart.
