The Minister of Justice and Interior of the Valencian Generalitat, Salome Pradasdeclared this Thursday that he was unaware of the existence of the alert system to inform the population through cell phones. Civil Protection sent this alert to Valencians on Tuesday October 29 at 8:11 p.m., after the Ministry of Ecological Transition recognized the high risk of rupture of the Forata dam, as revealed by OKDIARIO.
Pradas stated that “a technician” informed him of the existence of this mechanism, after the Secretary of State for the Environment, Hugo Morán, while traveling in Colombia, informed him – at 8 p.m. – that he could not guarantee that the Forata dam would hold. The advisor explained that this system “It is not regulated at the moment” in the regional emergency plans and that it is “a project which is pending approval within the national civil protection committee”, that is to say that it depends on the Home Office.
No protocol
The use of this system is not protocolized, as Pradas claims. Interior approved in December 2022 a “provisional protocol” with a validity of six months. Tests were then carried out in the autonomous communities. The system is integrated into the National Alert Network, managed by the Ministry of the Interior through the National Center for Monitoring and Coordination of Emergencies (CENEM) of the General Directorate of Civil Protection and Emergencies.
In fact, the president of the Generalitat himself, Carlos Mazonasked the Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande Marlaskareview of these protocols.
The alert was launched after the Government, through the Ministry of Ecological Transition, admit the high risk in Forata. However, this dam, which reached one hundred percent of its capacity, prevented an even greater tragedy. The main problem was in the Poyo Ravine, which devastated towns like Paiporta. However, the Hydrographic Confederation of Júcar was only informed on Tuesday at 6:43 p.m. of the worrying situation in the ravine.
“Consensus alert”
The Valencian Generalitat assures that the alert was sent after agreement at the meeting of the Integrated Operational Coordination Center (CECOPI), which was held since 5 p.m., and “after deliberation and agreement of all its members”.
Pradas insisted that this system “is not regulated at the moment” nor in the autonomous plans. “It is a project that is before the National Civil Protection Committee to be approved, but it is when they give us this information, the only verbal one, on the Forata dam that we decide to activate es-Alert, a decision advised by the technicians,” he explained. , in an interview with In Punt.
Call at 8:00 p.m.
As revealed by OKDIARIO, the Secretary of State for the Environment, Hugo Morán, only contacted the Valencian Generalitat until eight o’clock in the afternoon of the same Tuesday – when several villages were already flooded and that the situation was dramatic in different areas of the region – . At that time, as this newspaper published, Morán telephoned advisor Salomé Pradasadmitting that he could not guarantee that the Forata dam – one of the critical points – could withstand the rising waters and that there was a high risk of rupture.
The reservoir was already in a critical situation, scenario 3which literally meant a “high probability of breakagewhich makes the appearance of the flood wave generated by the breakdown or breakage practically inevitable. If this dam breaks, The consequences would have been disastrous. due to massive flooding in riverside towns in the region.
At that time the meeting of the Integrated Operational Coordination Center was held, convened by the Mazón government at 5 p.m., and in the presence –electronically– from the Government delegate, Pilar Bernabé.
But the high risk was elsewhere, Poyo Ramblawhich has not received the same attention from the government.
In fact, as this media also published, the Hydrographic Confederation of Júcar, responsible for monitoring the flows, only alerted of the situation until 6:43 p.m.while several towns were already flooded.
This communication was done via a simple email. One of the 130 who had been sent that day and the day before. He briefly reports an unstoppable flow, capable of destroying everything that precedes it: “Value of 1,686 m³/s greater than 150 m³/s with an upward trend at 6:40 p.m..”
was not given no explanation why from 4:13 p.m., where a value of “28.7 m³/s below 30 m³/s with a downward trend” was reported until 6:43 p.m., where it already reached “1,686 m³/s above 150 m³ /ss with an upward trend” no notice has been sent.
