The Minister of Justice and the Interior Salome Pradas He assured this Thursday that it was only at eight p.m. October 29when the ravines had already flooded several Valencian villages, when he learned that there was a system developed by the Valencian government to alert the population in the event of an emergency.
This was stated by the Valencian politician in a statement to A Punt after fuents of the Generalitat will assure EL ESPAÑOL that 8:00 p.m. That day, the Secretary of State for the Environment, Hugo Morancalled by telephone from Colombia to Pradas, to warn that there was “a high risk” of the Forata dam breaking.
“It was at eight o’clock in the afternoon that I received the call from the Secretary of State for Ecological Transition, directly attached to Minister Ribera, and that’s when he told me that “He is in Colombia, he is learning about the situation and tells me that he cannot guarantee that the dam will not break,” Pradas told Valencian regional television.
“It was then that a technician informed us that there is a mechanism called ES-Alert, which is not regulated even in our regional plans, which are still in the draft stage.“, added the advisor.
This Tuesday, October 29, was the first time that the mass alert system was activated in a real case in the Valencian Community.
A loud beep sounds simultaneously on all mobile devices, whether they are silent or not. The same message appeared on all screens: “Protection alert due to heavy rain and as a preventative measure, any type of travel in the province should be avoided. »
This tool, called ES-Alert, was launched in 2022 thanks to European funds and is the result of a collaboration between the Ministries of the Interior and the Economy and Digital Transformation.
This is a European mandate, since the Code 110 of the European Electronic Communications Code (EECC) establishes that member countries must have a system with these characteristics in order to be able to send geolocated alerts to the mobile phones of all users affected by a disaster.
ES-Alert allows emergency managers to send a mass alert to the entire population in a risk area, through radio broadcasts, without the need to register or download an application specific.
The Community of Madrid has already used this tool in the face of the risk of flooding in September 2023.
Fees questioned
There are two regional positions designated by management: the Minister of Justice and the Interior, Salome Pradasand his number two, the regional emergency secretary, Emilio Argüésoas sources from the Regional Administration confirmed to EL ESPAÑOL.
Both are primarily responsible for emergency management, civil protection and firefighting. They have practically no experience in this position because they took on this responsibility after Vox broke the autonomous governments with the PP last July.
Since President Mazón assumed command the night of October 29none of them held a press conference. Furthermore, they do not act as spokespersons for the tragedy despite the positions of responsibility they occupy.
Since the start of the crisis, the Generalitat Valenciana has been fundamentally criticized for the delay in issuing alerts to the population because emergency management is their responsibility in the territory.
Even if the State Meteorological Agency (AEMET) had issued warnings about the storm and Jucar Confederation After activating flood risk alerts, the Generalitat only sent alert messages to cell phones when DANA was already causing victims.
This delay was reported as a factor that worsened the storm’s aftermath, leaving many citizens without time. prepare adequately for the coming flood.
The afternoon of the tragedy
The Integrated Operational Coordination Center (Cecopi) It was summoned by the advisor at 3 p.m. to take place on Tuesday October 29 at 5 p.m. Shortly before three in the afternoon, Salomé Pradas published a message on her social networks concerning the flooding of the rivers.
“We ask great caution to residents of the municipalities crossed by the Magro River and the Poyo ravine. We have declared a hydrological emergency in these areas. Follow the advice of emergency services, do not cross river beds and do not approach slopes. Inquire at 112.”
From five o’clock in the afternoon, the Cecopi meeting begins, which took place electronicallyaccording to the sources consulted. All state agencies involved in the emergency are linked to this meeting, including the Júcar Confederation, as well as the state security forces, under the direction of the Generalitat.
The Minister of the Interior did not take any decision to protect the civilian population in the afternoon. The Generalitat claims to have received no alert on the extent of the tragedy, but Pradas was in permanent contact with these departments because the meeting was only interrupted at dawn.
“The situation was worrying throughout the Magro River basin, where problems were recorded both upstream and downstream of the Forata dam. In fact, at the start of the Cecopi meeting, at 5:00 p.m., it was reported that general increase in flows in the Magro and Júcar rivers, and the imminent declaration of scenario 2 of the Forata dam, in accordance with its emergency plan,” Confederation sources told this newspaper.
Salomé Pradas led the Generalitat’s operation until President Mazón arrived at the coordination center in the face of the historic flood.
Meanwhile, Emilio Argüeso participated in Cecopi, according to various sources consulted, but nor did he take any action on how the events occurred.
Apparently, on Tuesday around 1:30 p.m., Argüeso went to Carlet due to heavy rains. There he was in the company of the city councilor, municipal councilors and local police, according to sources from the Ministry of Justice and the Interior.
Before the “gravity“Given the situation,” these sources add, “the advisor summoned CECOPI and the entire team moved to the 112 emergency center in L’Eliana. “She remained there until Wednesday morning, when the PMA of Paiporta was created,” they say.
In this sense, the ministry explains that, although it appears on the public agenda, it was not part of the bullfighting commission convened.
We knew that a DANA could cause havoc in Valencia, but on the public agenda of both positions no previous meetings appear with municipalities or security forces under threat, nor to communicate preventive measures.
Argüeso is accused of only arriving at the command post 10 hours after Mazón confirmed an unknown number of deaths, at 11 a.m. on October 30. Ministry sources, however, explained that he was in constant contact with operations and management.
How does the alert work?
The system, according to Civil Protection, is available to regional emergency coordination centers within the framework of the National Civil Protection System.
These centers, as well as the National Center for Monitoring and Coordination of Emergencies of the Ministry of the Interiorare responsible, within their area of expertise, for defining and issuing alerts when the situation requires it.
The emergency response centers have access to the information system, in order to be able to define the parameters of the alert to be sent, i.e. the type of risk, the observed or expected event, the area concerned, the period of validity and the message to be sent to citizens.
Once validated, the alert is sent to the systems located at the mobile telephone operators responsible for activating the sending of the message to the network cells located in the area.
Telephones located in these cells receive the message directly, without the need to establish a special connection.
