The main defense argument of the Valencian government to avoid any responsibility for the human and material catastrophe caused by DANA was the lack of information on the Poyo ravine channel. Despite emails from the Hydrographic Confederation of Júcar (CHJ) and 10 telephone calls from Aemet to the Emergency Civil Protection of the Generalitat on October 29 warning of the spectacular volume of flow upstream, the Mazón executive continues to defend that it wasn’t enough. . And the Regional Emergency Service can at the moment have its own information prepared by its own forest firefighters, according to the 2010 flood plan and the Forest Firefighters’ Best Practices Manual.
In fact, as emergency sources explained to questions from elDiario.es, on October 29 the coordinator of the flood operation, the Provincial Consortium of Firefighters of Valencia, sent four units of forest firefighters to control the scales, that is, the flows of the Poyo ravine and the Magro river in Chiva, Alzira, Requena and Utiel. Concretely, at 12:56 p.m., on the day of DANA, the first unit based in Buñol was sent to measure the flow of the Poyo ravine channel, near Chiva. At 1:01 p.m., the Alzira-based unit was sent to take samples from the Magro River as it passed through Carlet; At 2 p.m., the Requena unit was transferred to the municipality of Pontón, where the Magro also passes, and at 3 p.m., the Sinarcas unit was ordered to measure the Magro as it passed through Utiel. At that time, all these municipalities were experiencing significant flooding.
The data collected by these wildfire units had to be transmitted to the Emergency Coordination Center, as required by protocol. What did the Emergency Department do with this data? Why did the President of the Generalitat speak of an “information blackout” if his team had its own data on the Poyo ravine and the Magro river? Could there have been an “information blackout” by having our own meters in the most conflict areas?
The regulation, according to the 2010 Flood Plan and the Forest Firefighters’ Practice Manual to which elDiario.es had access, obliges the Generalitat to send its regional operators to carry out flow measurements in boulevards and ravines when it There is a forecast of flooding. “The Forestry Firefighters Unit [UBF] “You will be instructed to read the scales assigned to you (all or some of them), when it is necessary to know the evolution of the flow due to the intensity of the rains”, we read in the training document for managers, reproduced in this information.
According to the forest firefighters’ action manual, in the section “Operation during rainy episodes”, “the UBF will receive instructions to read the scales assigned to it (all or some of them), when it will be necessary to know the evolution of the flow due to the intensity of the rains. The data will be recorded on the Scale Water Level Reading Form (template is attached in this practice) and will be communicated to the Consortium Headquarters, which in turn will transfer them to the Emergency Coordination Center (ECC). With the data obtained, the CCE will give instructions to know the evolution of flood peaks. With this information, Urgences could have relied on its own data, in addition to that provided by the CHJ and Aemet.
The manual also establishes the actions of the wildland firefighter in the event of rain and at what rate the alarm should be raised. “A key element for forecasting is whether the thresholds that determine whether rainfall is particularly intense are exceeded (if they exceed 40 l/m² in one hour, 50 l/m² in four hours or 100 l/m² in 12 hours). . To this end, it is very important that monitoring is carried out from the first moment, trying to have information at regular intervals, information that must be transmitted to neighboring municipalities and to the Emergency Coordination Center of the Generalitat (CCE ). Thanks to this, we can have real-time information essential for the adequate prediction of emergency situations, especially in the boulevard and ravine basins, where events occur very quickly.”
It also prepares forest firefighters for “practices outside of rainy periods”, according to the same regulations. “The UBF must know the location of the scales assigned to him, their observation points and the reading procedure. To do this, twice a year, the Unit will go to the location where the scale is located, verify that the observation point indicated on the scale sheet is appropriate, and all members of the Unit will proceed at a reading of the proposed level. by the practice instructor. Several readings will be carried out with different simulated water levels,” he explains. President Mazón’s argument that there was only one meter in the Poyo ravine and that there was “an information blackout” would be widely discussed.
And continue with the “Review of the state of the balances”. “On the day of practice, an examination of the condition of the scales will also be carried out. If there is undergrowth that makes reading difficult, it will be cleaned and it will be assessed whether maintenance such as painting is necessary (taking into account that the scales should be visible in conditions of poor visibility , and even at night). If the scale has disappeared due to a fall of its support or another incident, it will also be indicated, as well as any data deemed relevant”, argues this manual, created in 2011 with a PP government and revised in 2017 by the coalition between the PSPV-PSOE and Compromís.
Forest firefighters, both union and private, have been denouncing for days the lack of coordination of the rescue team. On October 29 at 7:30 p.m., the forest firefighters were withdrawn by emergency services, according to criticism from unions and individual firefighters on social media.
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