The Valencian Community had to face a new DANA only 15 days after the previous one, during which more than 200 people died. In the worst affected areas, they began working against time to unclog sewers due to the activation of the red alert.
Finally, it seems that the most affected areas were able to avoid the worst of this strong storm, The State Meteorological Agency (AEMET) changed the warning from red to orange.
The Emergency Service of the Valencian Community has announced the decision of CECOPI to lift the limitation on the circulation of private vehicles that was in force in Valencia after the last weather warnings.
In this way, “all movement restriction measures agreed in Orders 10 and 11/2024 are lifted.” “Both in the 20 municipalities in the areas most affected by DANA on October 29, as well as in the rest of the 163 municipalities added yesterday afternoon [en referencia a este miércoles]”, indicated the service of the Generalitat in X.
However, a new order will be issued for restrictions to follow in the CV400, the CV 407, CV36 and CV33, the basic core, to facilitate the tasks of the deployed means and public transport services. It will be from tonight at 11 p.m. until Sunday 11:59 p.m.
This is how Valencia prepared for the new storm
Given the activation of the red alert and the fear of how this strong storm could affect the most affected areas, The focus was on the sewers. The firefighters they started to work to unclog them as much as possible lest they collapse with the new rains.
Likewise, work was carried out in garages and houses to prevent all the work carried out in 15 days from coming to nothing.
In areas like Aldaia, sandbags which were placed next to the Aldaia ravine were “fundamental” to avoid further damage. This preventive measure in the face of the new weather alert “made it possible to avoid material damage in the town of Horta Sud,” declared Mayor Guillermo Luján.
According to the mayor, the precipitation in this town were intense at different hours of the night and came to overflow the gutter of the Poyo ravine.
The City Council of Chiva (Valencia) reported that, despite the intense rains, thanks to previous cleaning work on the collectors No notable incident occurred in the town.
However, as the town hall reports in a press release, the work teams “continue to act in the affected areas, particularly in urbanizations and points still damaged by the rains and floods of last October 29”.
New DANA causes flooding and evacuations
Torrential rains flooded some areas such as the Cullera covered pavilion. Moreover, the city streets they were floodedmaking any movement impossible due to the movement of materials such as stones and earth, even if there have been no serious incidents to regret.
The mayor of Cullera, Jordi Mayor, indicated that he had been a “quite difficult” night because it rained “a lot in a very short time”, since there was a static storm above the town which dumped more than 90 liters per square meter in just two hours.
The torrential rains caused “the filling of practically all the streets of the city”, indicated the mayor, who nevertheless stressed that there was no serious incident to deplore, because the city “drained quite well “.
In the industrial area of El Oliveral de Riba-roja de Túria, the small neighborhood of the same name and the La Reva urbanization, were flooded again when the Pozalet ravine overflowed during the night, forcing two families to be evacuated and several workers and left a “significant impact”” in the industrial zone, as explained by the mayor of the town, Robert Raga.
For its part, in Sueca, heavy rains occurred in the early hours of this Thursday. up to 83 liters per square meter in areas like Bega de Mar. However, municipal sources indicate that the water has already been reduced, so the streets are already dry.
As for Torrent, the fear of what was experienced during the previous DANA pushed around sixty neighbors, including families with minors, to decide spend the night in the lodge of El Vedat, epicenter of aid to victims of the DANA of October 29.
This was stated by the mayor of the municipality, Amparo Folgado, specifying that these people, “when the rain started, were afraid and went up to the pavilion.” “It was because of the courage and fear that we all have.” “We were all a little alert this evening but they have already returned home,” he added.
Municipal sources indicated that “Now people are panicking.” and these families, who live on Llíria Street, in the municipality next to the Horteta ravine – empty of water – went to the pavilion and asked to spend the night there “more peacefully”. The El Vedat pavilion, they stressed, was the “epicenter” of DANA and hosted 2,000 people, who received food and medical and psychological assistance and “remains open with all these actions.”
Now, once the worst of this new DANA has passed, they have already started in many affected areas to continue the cleaning, drainage and extraction works, as well as to continue the search and location of those still missing . .
