Although the situation of “climate crisis” It ended in the region of Valencia, in Spain, the Spanish meteorological agency (Aemet) put Barcelona and its metropolitan area, 350 kilometers further north, on red alert on Monday, November 4, where torrential rains began to fall.
In the capital of Catalonia, commuter train traffic was suspended and a crisis committee was created at the Barcelona-El Prat international airport, where fifteen flights were diverted, according to the authorities.
Six days after the terrible floods that left at least 217 dead (213 of them in the Valencia region alone, three in Castilla-La Mancha and one in Andalusia), the priority remains locating the missing. The number of victims could continue to rise, while an unknown number of residents remain missing and many underground car parks, completely flooded, have not yet been fully inspected.
“A terrible stranger”
The authorities are especially concerned about the situation of the underground parking lot at Bonaire, a large shopping center in Aldaia, a town of 31,000 inhabitants on the outskirts of Valencia. With a capacity of 5,700 seats, almost half of which are underground, the latter is completely flooded. “The shopping center is devastated in its upper part. And down there there is a terrible unknown. “We’re not sure what we’ll find.”declared the mayor of Aldaia, Guillermo Luján, on public television TVE. “We want to be careful” but “it can be terrible”.
In recent days, the personnel of the Military Emergency Unit (UME), which responds to natural disasters, have installed numerous pumps to begin evacuating water. The divers managed to penetrate underground, without having found any body so far.
In the towns most affected by the floods, anger and anguish still predominate. Many streets remain clogged with piles of cars, mud and garbage, and houses without telephones or electricity.
Helplessness and anger
On Sunday, this feeling of helplessness turned into an avalanche of anger when King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia traveled with the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, and the conservative president of the Valencian Community, Carlos Mazón, to Paiporta, a town considered the epicenter of the tragedy. “Murderers!” »exasperated neighbors shouted. Some people threw mud and various objects at the procession, while insulting the Prime Minister and Mr. Mazon, who were quickly evacuated by the security services.
In extreme tension, the sovereigns received mud on their faces and clothes, an episode undoubtedly unprecedented in the history of the Spanish monarchy. Visibly moved but impassive, they stayed for an hour to talk to residents before leaving. The Minister of Transportation, Oscar Puente, admitted on television that this trip may not have been organized at the best time, admitting “a possible mistake”.
Due to the poor condition of the roads and the still rainy weather, the authorities maintained traffic restrictions on several roads in the Valencian Community this Monday, where schools will remain closed throughout the day.
