Two o’clock in the afternoon passes chiva and the multitude of volunteers from the city – and those from many other places – begin to put down their brooms and sit down to eat. A bullfighting club prepares hot dishes all day long. At City Hall, they cannot store more food and clothing.
The worst is over, but the chasm in the middle of the main avenue and the trail of destruction on the boulevard that divides this Valencian municipality in two show the fury with which the water destroyed everything in its path. One of the houses located next to the river – now without bridges – has the height reached by the flow indicated on its facade: 1.98 meters.
The cries demanding the passage of ambulances and Civil Guard cars interrupt the well-deserved rest in the street. 19 neighbors who were drawing water from an underground garage were found poisoned by carbon monoxide which was released by the bilge pump. Doctors from the health center arrive quickly with oxygen masks. One of the volunteers suffered a seizure and was transferred to Manises hospital, after being stabilized, with seven other people. At press time, four of those involved had been released.
Image of the river bed in the Valencian town of Chiva
This is the most bitter aspect of the solidarity effort that was put forward to the authorities. “Five days have passed. Professionals and heavy machinery are needed. Civil Guard and the firefighters, yes. But we saw few soldiers», says Laura at the doors of what was her clothing store.
Along with other family members and friends, he washed all the clothes he could salvage from the mud to send them to other municipalities in DANA’s ground zero. “We will cling to all the help available,” he explains with resignation.
Meanwhile, at the church gates, an army equipped with rakes and rags removes the mud from the temple. After days without electricity or mobile coverage, drinking water has returned to the urban center, speeding up cleaning work and queues for barrels installed in the street with drinking water.
Image of Chiva residents cleaning clothes in a flood-affected store
“There’s not a lot of pressure, but those on the fifth floor of the property can now shower on the first,” says one woman. Tractor traffic with trailers loaded with debris is continuous. Also that of the helicopters flying over the area.
“We coordinate ourselves. I miss the uniformed officers who know how to handle a disaster like this. Professionals who have experience of crises and can guide us“, says Fernando.
The Military Emergency Unit arrived in the municipal area on Friday and began searching for survivors and cleaning the industrial area in which many cars traveling on the A-3 were dragged. This Saturday, we could see them taking measurements and checking the sewers in the city center. While the death toll has not yet been updated – there were seven on Friday – concern persists about the situation in urban areas that are finally accessible.
Image of Chiva residents cleaning the local church
Retired Civil Guards from all over Spain also collaborate in logistics or in examining vehicles to verify that there are no deaths. “We have the knowledge and we must take advantage of it”says Lucía Llano, president of RAGSE. “In the first days, we noticed the lack of professionals in uniform,” he admits. But the work of his colleagues stands out. Some agents work double shifts: they come in civilian clothes then leave to do their duty.
Despite the disaster, in the district located in the lower part of Chiva, we feel lucky. “We were left with nothing, but we always say we were lucky,” says a neighbor. The house opposite his has already had to be demolished. The shovel is still there, because many others risk suffering the same fate.
It is also found on the banks of the river, where the fall of the facades has left some houses bare. “Don’t worry, the roof will fall in,” a young woman warns an older man who wants to enter a damaged building. “I don’t live here, I’m at my brother’s,” the man reassures her, impatiently waiting for an engineer to tell him the future of what his house was.
