Experiencing the tragedy that occurred last Tuesday in Valencia from a distance, knowing that you have loved ones in the affected areas, is not an easy task. Josep Murillo is Aragonese, but part of him is Valencian. A large part of his family lives there, more precisely in Polinyà de Xúquer, one of the areas affected by DANA. “You experience it with a lot of nervousness and very sad because we suffer for them.“Josep laments.
In their case, they had to wait for news from their family. “My cousin and his girlfriend live in a basement in Guadasuar, one of the most affected towns, andthey went to jump from their interior patio to that of the neighbor who managed to bring them to safety on the first floor”, explains this Aragonese. “It’s very sad because we see that they have lost everything. Their house is uninhabitable and they lost two cars and a motorcycle,” says Josep.
The rest of his family resides in Polinyà de ““We had to call the local police to take my grandfather upstairs.”he explains.
So at midnight, his family and the rest of the town were safe when the flooding began. “The water reached five feet and destroyed most of the furniture and appliances on the main floor.” said Josep.
The critical moment in his municipality, he said, occurred around 4 a.m., when the water entering the house was uncontrollable. ““My uncles tried to stop it, but at one point the water was coming in through the ground.”explains this person concerned.
Given the situation, Josep and his parents traveled to Valencia on Thursday to control the damage in their family home and be able to check that their loved ones were okay.
“Deceived”
This young man from Zaragoza, during his days in Valencia, visited different places most affected by the DANA tragedy. One of them, the municipality of Algemesí: ““It was chaos, a friend’s street remained the same for a week.”deplores Josep. “It was only this Sunday that they started arriving to remove the rubble,” he explains.
Considering the presence of the personnel assigned to Valencia, he emphasizes that in his city and in Algemesí the only thing they saw were firefighters and “not many either.” Unlike the number of volunteers, “there are a lot of them”. ““There is a lack of machines that could alleviate the work and start removing debris from the streets because they are collapsing.”explains the man from Zaragoza. “We even saw arguments between neighbors over debris,” he laments.
After spending four intense days of work in the affected areas, he assesses the emotional situation of the Valencians. “People are frustrated because they were not warned in time and “Many deaths could have been avoided.”he emphasizes. “Here, the anger is more directed against the Valencian Generalitat, they feel cheated,” emphasizes Josep.
However, after these days comes the worst task, that of looking towards what can be salvaged. “DANA destroyed many local businesses and the fields where many families live“explains Josep.
For example, his uncle’s field was completely flooded and a big loss is expected: “The insurance company told him that he couldn’t touch anything until the expert arrived and that it could take months,” he laments.
He and his parents returned home after four days of intense work during which they were able to clean the family home and limit the damage. “I feel lucky because my family is okay“, he concludes.
