THE Valencian Generalitat launched the massive alert on cell phones after receiving a call from the Secretary of State for the Environment, Hugo Morán, to the Minister of the Interior, Salomé Pradas, recognizing the high risk of breakage of the Forata dam. This call, as revealed by OKDIARIO, took place at 8 p.m.. The alert launched 11 minutes later. Morán, number two in Teresa Ribera’s ministry, took part in the COP summit on biodiversity in Cali (Colombia) at the time. The senior official did not cancel this trip even though he knew, from the previous daysthe Aemet alert for the Valencian Community.
As this newspaper was able to confirm, the Secretary of State was aware, as early as Sunday, of the special notice issued by the meteorological agency on DANA in several regions of the country. This notice read as follows: “On Tuesday the 29th, that the peak day of this episode is expectedthe greatest probability of these intense precipitations will be in the Mediterranean peninsular area (less likely in Barcelona and Girona) and around the strait and, to a lesser extent, in the central and southern half. It is likely that in the points of the Valencian Community and Murcia exceeds 150 mm in 24 hours“. A very unfavorable forecast but nevertheless far from what really happened, since on that fateful day it exceeded 600 mm in some parts of Valencia.
In the middle of a tragedy
Hugo Morán remained at least in Colombia October 29 and 30that is, in the middle of a tragedy. On Sunday, he himself broadcast Aemet’s opinion on his networks, warning of the risk of DANA, which caused at least 2,019 deaths and thousands of victims.
On Tuesday, DANA’s peak day, Hugo Morán met with Joaquín de Arístegui, ambassador to the country, and the rest of the Spanish delegation. The next day, already in the midst of the tragedy, he participated in one of the forums organized at the Latin American and Caribbean pavilion, Biodiversity unites us. Ribera’s top official barely paused in his speech in the tragedy that our country was experiencing: “We will now analyze the irreparable losses, the human losses, and behind them will come the analysis of economic losses, in infrastructure, in equipment, in commercial activity. And we will come to the conclusion that no matter what resources we allocate to repairing nature, the economic consequences of human activity in its degradation will always be greater than the capacity to respond to them,” he simply said. declared.
Likewise, he urged “to be able to gradually align public and private financing commitments in terms of with saving a planet “It’s getting out of hand.” The intervention it only lasted five minutes.
Call at 8:00 p.m.
As revealed by OKDIARIO, the Secretary of State for the Environment contacted by telephone the Minister of the Interior of the Generalitat, Salomé Pradas, on Tuesday at 8 p.m. During the conversation, he admitted his concern about the flooding of the Forata Dam.
The reservoir was already in a critical situation, scenario 3which literally meant a “high probability of breakagewhich makes the appearance of the flood wave generated by the breakdown or breakage practically inevitable. Fortunately, he managed to contain the water and prevent an even greater tragedy.
At that time the meeting of the Integrated Operational Coordination Center (Cecopi) was held, convened by the Mazón government at 5 p.m., and in the presence –electronically– from the Government delegate, Pilar Bernabé.
After Hugo Morán’s appeal, and after deliberation and agreement within Cecopi, according to Valencian government sources, It was decided to send the alert message to the populationarrived at 8:11 p.m.
But the main risk at the time lay in the Poyo ramblawhich has not received due attention from the Júcar Hydrographic Confederation, an organization that reports to Teresa Ribera and is responsible for monitoring flows.
The technicians of the Confederation only warned that 6:43 p.m. of the alarming flooding of this boulevard, when several towns were already flooded. The warning was issued via a simple email, which reported: “Value of 1,686 m³/s greater than 150 m³/s with an upward trend at 6:40 p.m.”. An enormous scale, equivalent to 53 times the flow of the Tajo-Segura, or 4 times the flow of the Ebro.
Since the Júcar Confederation – and by extension, on the part of the Government – there has been no no explanation why from 4:13 p.m., where a value of “28.7 m³/s below 30 m³/s with a downward trend” was reported until 6:43 p.m., where it already reached “1,686 m³/s above 150 m³ /ss with an upward trend” no notice has been sent.
The flood devastated several towns, mainly Paiporta, Catarroja and Benetússer, where most of the victims came from. The tragedy therefore occurred on the Rambla de Poyo and not because of the rupture of the dam, which was the responsibility of the ministry. As denounced by the Valencian Government, during the Cecopi meeting, the president of the Hydrographic Confederation of Júcar (CHJ), Miguel Polohas at no time reported the state of this boulevard.
