A team of six volunteers and technicians of the Red Cross, specialized in emergencies, are already in Valencia to strengthen the psychosocial assistance team for people affected by dana.
Drawing on their experience with forest fires, landslides, people missing at sea and natural disasters like the La Palma volcano, they will offer psychological care and emotional support to the population who suffered the consequences of this natural phenomenon. The goal is to relieve, wherever possible, the emotional suffering caused by the loss of loved ones and/or their livelihood, or by uncertainty about what might happen. This support is also offered to first responders who are experiencing very difficult situations.
José Luis Camisón, psychologist specializing in emergencies and volunteer of the #ERIE Psychosocial Support Emergency Response Team, has been part of this team since 2008. He has worked with people affected by accident of Spanair flight 5022 in 2008the El Hierro volcanic crisis in 2011, the collapse of the Cristianos – Arona building in 2016, the La Palma volcano in 2021, the forest fires in the north of Tenerife in 2022 and 2023, as well as numerous interventions with families of missing people. at sea, notably during the earthquake and tsunami in Chile in 2010, as well as during the migration crisis in Greece in 2015.
Laura Marrero, for her part, has worked with people missing at sea, landslides, deaths, forest fires like the one in August 2023 that occurred on the island of Tenerife, or the La Palma volcano in 2021, with more than 4,000 hours of work. volunteer in an emergency. María Candelaria García has been working in this field since 1986, working in the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife as well as nationally, traveling to Barcelona, the Basque Country, Zaragoza and Valencia.
Humberto Rodríguez, who worked during the Spanair plane crash missing at sea and the Tenerife floods in 2014, traveled from Las Palmas to support family and friends of those affected by the disaster. La Palma Volcano already involved; also Yaiza Sotorrio, nursing assistant, medical transport technician and current psychology student, and Dánae Suárez, emergency trained psychologist with experience in affected or displaced populations, unexpected deaths, aerial exercises, accompanying colleagues and friends of people who died violently.
Currently, Emergency Awareness and Information Teams (ESIE) are providing information and direct support in the various damaged sites. On the other hand, Basic Emergency Response Teams (ERBE) and Immediate Emergency Response Teams (ERIE) provide specialized care in temporary shelters, as well as psychosocial assistance. Communication tasks are also carried out, essential for the coordination of all aid.
The Organization’s efforts are particularly focused on caring for the child population housed in hostelsas well as the provision of food, hygiene kits and shelter materials to the affected population. In addition, we also collaborate in the installation of telecommunications networks and support other responders in emergencies, both in the Valencian Community and in other affected points in Castilla La-Mancha and Andalusia.
There are currently 15 temporary shelters spread across 13 sites, where approximately 7,000 people. Likewise, 27 distribution and delivery points of essential goods were set up, in which more than 96,000 food deliveries to affected people and responders, 27,000 hygiene kits and more than 2,500 blankets were recorded . In addition, the Organization has 129 vehicles, as well as 3 boats, to support the aid operation.
