The DANA tragedy of October 29, 2024, which left 217 dead and 16 missing, in addition to hundreds of injuries and billions of euros in material damage, will be the subject of a judicial investigation. To the complaints already presented and announced will be added those of the victims and their families who will demand the answers that the President of the Generalitat, Carlos Mazón, did not give during his appearance at the Corts Valencianes last Friday. Since the decision was taken on the day of the disaster at the meeting of the Integrated Operational Coordination Center (Cecopi), which began at 5 p.m. on October 29 and to which Mazón arrived late after having prolonged a meal, which they said is: different sources, but the meeting was not officially recorded, as emergency sources confirm to elDiario.es. Curiously, fragments of the meeting have been leaked, such as one showing that Justice Minister Salomé Pradas lied when she said that until shortly before 8 p.m. that day she was unaware of the existence of the Es-Alert system. notification to the entire population.
The lack of official recording of this meeting during which important decisions were taken could hamper future judicial investigations or parliamentary committees. Responsibility for recording Cecopi corresponds to Emergencies, which generally do not keep minutes of the content of meetings, much less resolutions, since these are emergency situations. This does not exclude that some of the institutions involved in the operational meetings prepare their own documentation (this was the case of the Cecopi minutes of November 1 prepared by the firefighters of the Valencia town hall to which elDiario.es had access) . .
“Cecopi is not a collegial body, so no official note is made on what is happening and it is not recorded,” explain sources close to Valencian emergency management.
In fact, in previous episodes of DANA these meetings would not have been recorded, although with the number of casualties there have been in 2024, any documentation of the key meeting of the first Cecopi becomes fundamental evidence. Other sources from institutions participating in the meetings explain that it would be up to the Emergencies to record, even if the people who connect remotely were able to record it, as we already know from leaks.
Although there are no recordings of meetings, there is an emergency management system called “Comcord”, which records operational decisions. It is ultimately a sort of “black box” in which specialized technicians, when they open a file, in an emergency situation, record step by step which organizations involved in the operation must be notified or which decisions are taken.
In the ‘Comcord’ are recorded all the orders given to the different teams to act in the event of a disaster, including the firefighters, the Military Emergency Unit (UME) or the State Security Forces and Agencies, such as the Well-informed sources in emergency management explain to this daily. Thanks to “Comcord”, with each disaster alert, an alarm is triggered in all the centers concerned.
The three main control centers of the Regional Emergency Service have access to this management system for situations such as floods, forest fires or other disasters, located at Eliana – headquarters of the Coordination Center -, Alicante and Castelló.
Added to this are the numerous emails and notices that, for example, the Hydrographic Confederation of Júcar (CHJ) sent on the day in question, as well as the minutes of the Valencia City Hall firefighters to Cecopi of November 1. For the moment, information on the decisive Cecopi meeting of October 29 is only known in trickles.
What does the law say that regulates emergencies?
The regional law on civil protection and emergency management regulates the recording in the management system “112 Comunitat Valenciana” of actions and communications with citizens, whether telematic, telephone or radio. They constitute the “official source of information on data relating to the management of emergency incidents”, as indicated in article 53 of the law.
Information related to the management of an emergency incident managed by “112 Comunitat Valenciana” is available to all the essential services concerned, “for the strict purposes of its management”, adds the standard. It is only provided, once the management of the emergency incident has been completed, to the judicial authority. Unless a court order, it is kept for a maximum period of two years.
The conversations will also be one of the keys to confirming the collapse of the emergency telephone line due to the avalanche of calls from citizens trapped by DANA. And also complaints regarding the breakdowns of the 112 telephone which prevented calls from being answered, according to telephone service agents.
The following article of the standard regulates the overall management of emergencies and communications by the various essential regional services. This includes the standardized communication system for essential services that respond to emergencies or disasters. This is the Emergency and Security Digital Communications Network of the Generalitat, whose protocols for using the network and organizing communications in emergencies and disasters correspond to the Ministry of Justice and Security. ‘Interior.
The “interconnection” of essential services
Valencian law requires all essential services in the Valencian Community to “interconnect” with the emergency system “112 Valencian Community” for “reception of incidents, communications, management, mobilization and monitoring, and the coordination of information.
The “interconnection” of essential services is carried out via a terminal of the own emergency management system of the “112 Comunitat Valenciana” or via a “standardized interface” approved by order of the department responsible for civil protection and emergency management. emergencies (the Department of Civil Protection and Emergency Management). Justice and Interior, currently headed by Salomé Pradas). “The Generalitat will promote and facilitate the integration of all essential services into the global and standardized system of emergency management and communications,” adds the regional law.
