Nineteen days after the passage of DANA, The effects of the devastation are still more than evident. And even though time seems to stand still for those who have lost so much, the reality is that the work begins to weigh on the backs of neighbors and volunteers as the drama begins to take a back seat, overshadowed by the new protagonist of history: Carlos Mazón and his disastrous management of a cold drop which cost the lives of 218 people.
Three weeks have passed since thousands of people lost everything, but the picture remains the same in the worst-hit cities. The mud crisis continues on the streets and even if the mud gradually begins to diminish, revealing the cobblestones of the sidewalks in places, the unsanitary conditions are increasingly worrying. And that’s not the worst. Nineteen days later, devices deployed at DANA’s ground zero continue to search for missing people.
According to the last Official government data still shows 13 people missing. Still 13 people. From the UME they assured that all efforts were focused on recovering the bodies of those still missing. The trackers concentrate this search in Albufera and in the sea, from the port of Valencia to that of Alicante. A relentless search, but one that progresses slowly and with families continuing with their hearts in their mouths.
A work in which the military, the very ones whose intervention was delayed by a total of five days due to Mazón’s leadership, play a crucial role. More than 21,800 soldiers are working in the affected areas, according to the latest report from the Emergency Coordination Center. 2,190 firefighters from 40 organizations and 8,500 soldiers are deployed on the ground, of which 2,100 belong to the UME; more than 800 Civil Protection volunteers from all over Spain; 9,728 agents, including the national police and the civil guard, of the state security forces and organs; more than 500 members of the various local police forces and more than 130 members of the Police Generalitat.
But where is the emphasis placed? Which professions are priorities? The fundamental work is carried out in clean the streets, search for missing people and build bridges to restore connections in the area. Furthermore, the chief general of the Military Emergency Unit, Javier Marcos, announced on Saturday that the Army has already started reconnaissance work to temporarily install four bridges in the municipalities of Cheste, Ribarroja, Picanya and Buñol.
Among the considerable property damage was the cash that affected people had in their homes or businesses. Is there a solution for these mud stained and DANA damaged tickets? There is a solution and it has already been implemented. The Bank of Spain has opened a specific counter, in its offices in Valencia, so that Those who lost money can get it back. A real drama where, while citizens struggle to move forward, in politics, no one moves.
Citizens unite, Mazón launches balloons
After the appearance on Friday where Mazón tried to justify the management of the Generalitat, what became clear is that the president made no self-criticism, that he did not announce any dismissals or resignations and that he did not Didn’t make a mea culpa. Mazón “entrenched” himself in the government based on lies, inaccuracies and omissions. There are already several the organizations that questioned some of the statements of ‘popular’.
The National Meteorological Agency (AEMET), the Military Emergency Unit (UME) and the Government questioned this Saturday some of the arguments put forward by Mazón to justify the decisions taken on October 29. From AEMET, members present at the meeting of the Integrated Operational Coordination Center (Cecopi) on October 29 highlighted that between 5 and 6 p.m. they were talking about the worrying situation that was already being experienced in the Poyo ravine and the possibility of catastrophe. the rupture of the Forata dam, but the The Es Alert mass message was only sent to the population at 8:11 p.m.
As AEMET sources confirmed to laSexta, they indicated that the possibility of collapse of the Forata dam was raised in Cecopi around 5:30 p.m. almost three hours before the Generalitat activated the Es-Alert system massive sending of messages to the cell phones of the population of Valencia.
AEMET is not the only organization to deny Mazón. The general head of the UME, Javier Marcos, assured that the military unit was alerted since the Generalitat decreed emergency level 1 and that at 3:41 p.m., when it learned that the situation was becoming complicated and before that she was raised to level 2, they came out, anticipating “official orders”.
During an appearance before the media, accompanied by the Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, the lieutenant general showed images taken on October 29, which show how the vehicles of the armed forces were advancing. already at 6:00 p.m. on the A-3 flooded as they checked for anyone trapped in vehicles in their path.
Marcos clarified that when the first reconnaissance element composed of 96 soldiers mobilized pointed out the seriousness of the situation, He alerted the rest of the UME battalions and ordered those based in the province of Valencia to prepare to leave, and by 00:28 on the 30th, the UME was already in Paiporta, the epicenter of the disaster.
Finally, it was the Ministry of Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge those who refused Mazón. Sources from Teresa Ribera’s ministry informed laSexta that a press release from the Valencian Ministry of the Interior refutes Mazón. While the president assures that the government was aware of the risk at the Forata dam and “did nothing”, this same statement from the ministry indicates that “has“From 6:00 p.m., CECOPI managed the situation at the Forata dam.”
As these same sources indicate, At 5:35 p.m. that day, the Emergency Coordination Center issued a hydrological alert in all municipalities bordering the Magro and Júcar rivers due to the increase in the flow of the Magro river, based on information from the Júcar Hydrographic Confederation that 1,000 m3/s could be reached.
This is why, from that moment on, CECOPI knew the risk and was aware of the situation. Furthermore, the same sources indicate that “if the president was really constantly informed of what was happening despite the fact that he was at a meal, then he also knew that there were thousands of people in danger” and They doubt that the alert was sent at 8:12 p.m. when CECOPI was already issuing a hydrological alert at 5:35 p.m..
