The rains caused by DANA, which left historic records in the province of Valencia, with more than 500 liters per square meter in some areas, and which hit this Thursday the northern interior of the province of Castellón – are in a situation of red alert. and more than 200 liters per square meter have already fallen in the town of Tirig, causing 140 deaths so far.
Despite the fact that from the early hours of Tuesday morning the Spanish Meteorological Agency (Aemet) warned of the red alert level, with the risk that this entails, and that mid-morning the Hydrographic Confederation of Júcar (CHJ ) warned of possible overflows of the Magro and Túria rivers, and the rambla de Poyo, due to the flooding of the canals in the municipalities of the lower part, the Generalitat Valenciana did not send the generalized alert system on the cell phones of all citizens of the province of Valencia until 8:12 p.m., when there were already hundreds of people trapped by the waters in the affected municipalities.
Direct assistance to those affected
President Mazón announced on Thursday that the Consell will approve next week a bill aimed at mobilizing 250 million euros (expandable) in aid to those affected by the storm that is devastating the Valencian territory. As the head of the Consell announced, it is direct and “express aid, without bureaucracy”, compatible with that allowed by other administrations, so that whoever needs it can count on 6,000 euros to deal with urgent material damage.
In addition, tax deductions will be offered for the purchase and rehabilitation of houses, while the IVF (Valencian Institute of Finance) will offer 0% credit lines and social aid will be launched especially aimed at dependent people and very vulnerable, as well as moves and changes of residence.
Tuesday morning, the President of the Government visited the Integrated Operational Coordination Center (CECOPI) of the Valencian Community. Sánchez reiterated “his maximum commitment to the Generalitat Valenciana” as well as “all possible resources for as long as necessary”. “We are sending a message of absolute collaboration and cooperation. If you need additional resources, the Spanish government is there. We are not going to leave the Valencians alone. The priority is to first find the missing, then devote all resources to reconstruction,” he stressed.
Damage to road and rail infrastructure
The Minister of Transport, Óscar Puente, confirmed on Thursday that a large part of the road network in the province of Valencia is “seriously damaged”, very significant damage which “will take a long time to replace, and not only financially”. In this sense, the resumption of traffic on the A-7 could take “months”, since 80 kilometers of the state road network are affected by “mountains of vehicles”.
On the high-speed line between Madrid and Valencia, 1.2 kilometers of infrastructure will need to be replaced, explained Puente, who indicated that it was still not possible to know “how far the damage extends.” . However, the restoration of the high-speed network is planned for Monday, “if nothing more serious is found”. Another thing is the situation of the Cercanías, which the minister described as “very serious”: “Of the five lines, three are missing, C1, C2 and C3. “We don’t have them, in C3, 45 kilometers are completely destroyed.”
