The president of the Valencian Generalitat, Carlos Mazón, began his speech by assuring that he would recognize his mistakes and assume his responsibilities. During his first intervention without time limit, the head of the Consell did not recognize any error.
The blame was shared between the Júcar Hydrographic Confederation (CHJ), Aemet and the Government Delegation. Not a single responsibility on the part of its Emergency Service, towards any of its services or towards itself, which was absent from the management of the disaster from 2:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., when the Integrated Operational Coordination Center, Cecopi, arrived .
elDiario.es analyzed the main statements of the president on his participation and that of his advisor Salomé Pradas. His speech was not free of lies, half-truths, omissions and inaccuracies.
Mazón: “Our own experience was not enough. Everything that happened exceeded our expectations. “Ordinary protocols did not work in an extraordinary situation. »
Omission. There are evacuation protocols in the event of flooding and this was put in place by the Ribera Baixa town halls on October 29, where the population was asked to go up to the first floors and not move around.
Mazón: “Our forecast system was overwhelmed by the water level itself. There is only three feet in the entire Poyo Ravine.
Omission. The sensors installed in the ravines are not used to give alerts, they are only used to compare information. According to the Hydrographic Confederation of Júcar, “there are no regulations, you have no management margin, when the sensor detects water, you already have it on you”. “We cannot leave flood management in the hands of what a sensor says, which is also extremely vulnerable,” they add.
Mazón: “In a flood about which we do not have the necessary information. The best we could do was to make do with the information available. The emergency center reports the situation and coordinates resources based on the data.
Fake. It is obvious that the previous decisions and the day of the tragedy were not appropriate. During DANA 2019, the Integrated Operations Coordination Center (Cecopi) met 24 hours before the storm. During the second DANA on November 13, Carlos Mazón himself issued three alerts through Es-Alert and suspended classes in all schools. He did not do so on October 29.
Mazón: “The events were unprecedented. The Buseo dam went from 10% capacity to 117% and the Forata dam did the same. “Eight tornadoes, trees and heavy vehicles affected Carlet, Turís or Catadau.”
Omission. The Carlet tornado occurred at 1 p.m. on October 29. Mazón kept his diary and went to eat. The Cecopi is convened at 3:00 p.m. and after the advisor’s visit to Carlet.
Mazón: “The protocols designed and tested in the past were applied, they did not work. All of this unfolded as it always had, but the disaster exceeded our protocols. Because it showed that our warning systems were failing. »
Fake. The protocols were not applied. In other storms, the procedure has been different. The emergency law and the flood plan were not partially respected. Cecopi was summoned late while the red alert was in effect from 7 a.m.
Mazón: “I was fully aware of the situation. There was nothing to catch up or slow down the meeting.
Fake. Various sources present in Cecopi explain to elDiario.es that Mazón had to be informed of everything and that this further slowed down the sending of the mass alert to cell phones.
Mazón: “There was a meeting of the government delegation at 8:30 a.m. There were no emergency members. The government did not cut any roads and trucks were already stuck.
Fake. According to Valencian regulations and the Flood Emergency Plan, the Generalitat Valenciana is the one that exercises powers at levels 1 and 2. At that time, there was level 1 of Emergencies and the Government delegate was gathered as a precautionary measure, so that everyone coordinates and is informed. . organizations which, in the event that emergency level 2 is declared, should participate. The Government delegate does not have the power to convene any autonomous body.
Mazón: “At 11:50 a.m., the head of Aemet told À Punt that the red alert was until 6 p.m. I base myself on these statements, which is why I assured that the storm would dissipate. I admit it was a mistake. The removal of this video was intended to eliminate information that could cause confusion because it had become outdated.
Half truth. He removed it the next day, when it no longer had any relevance. The events had happened. He only takes it off when it is shown to him on social media and his statement becomes obvious.
Mazón: “I kept my diary because the advisor and the delegation were there. When I was told that the dam was overflowing, that’s when I left for Cecopi. I caught a lot of traffic due to the weather situation. There was no need for anyone to pass information to me or delay the meeting.
Omission. Not a word about his meal from 2:45 p.m. to 6 p.m. with journalist Maribel Vilaplana. He didn’t explain anything about these blank hours. Except that between 6:45 p.m. and the moment he arrived late in Cecopi, he found himself involved in a traffic jam due to heavy traffic.
Mazón: “The information was available at the time of the Magro River and the filling of the Forata Dam. “There was fragmented information about Poyo Ravine”,
Fake. There are up to 61 emails and warnings regarding flow, rain and alerts for Barranco del Poyo between 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., when Carlos Mazón appeared in the Cecopi.
Mazón: “At 12:20 p.m. he informed the municipalities bordering the Poyo ravine. Emergencies warn the municipalities bordering the Poyo to create their Cecopal. Before 12:30 p.m., all neighboring communities were notified and informed of the Confederation. Then there is a drop in flow. ».
Fake. The town halls consulted by elDiario.es such as Sedaví assure that they are not aware of this opinion.
Mazón: There was “a two and a half hour information blackout” from the CHJ.
Lie. There have been at least four emails and dozens of notices from the CHJ regarding Chiva and Riba-roja. Emails containing data on the spectacular volume of water in this ravine at 4:37 p.m., 4:50 p.m., 4:57 p.m. and 5:02 p.m., according to emails held by elDiario.es. 62 of these reviews came while Mazón was eating. At 5 p.m., the CHJ representative in Cecopi – while Mazón was having lunch – verbally informed of the increase in flows. As of 5:30 p.m., flood warnings had already been issued.
Mazón: “The confederation present in Cecopi said nothing about Poyo. Only the Confederation is required to report when the flow exceeds 150 cubic meters per second. Faced with such a spectacular rise, no one said anything, neither the president nor his collaborators. Only by email”
Doubtful. Information from the Emergency Civil Protection will be known through the recordings if Cecopi speaks about the situation in the Poyo ravine. According to sources from the Hydrographic Confederation of Júcar, “the Poyo ravine sensor is an additional element in the set of all the mechanisms that can help carry out flow monitoring and its information was available in real time on the website of the CHJ so far. won. It is the Emergency Coordination Center that must monitor this type of channels because it establishes its own Special Flood Plan, collecting all available information.
Mazón: “They report the Magro flood and the system continues to monitor it. Around 7:45 p.m., an alert was given indicating that the Forata dam could overflow. It is at this time and not before that the Es-Alert system is taken into account. It has never been used in the Valencian Community and is not included in the protocols. The regulations only envisage sending these messages in the event of dam failure and chemical industry accidents.
Fake. At 6 p.m. the system was already ready, as confirmed by workers in contracts published by elDiario.es. Additionally, if this is solely due to a dam failure, on the afternoon of November 13, they sent three alerts via Es-alert. There was no dam failure or danger from the chemical industry. The Es-Alert system was tested in 2023 and the current government was aware of it.
