With fear still in the body, but with peace of mind that everyone is okay and material things are taken care of. It was the feeling that the people expelled by DANA in Malaga and who were temporarily transferred to the Tiro Pichón gymnasium in the capital Málaga.
They were expelled more than 4,000 people in the province of Malagaalthough the vast majority were able to stay in second homes or with family members and friends. Malaga City Council has provided 75 places in this pavilion and there is plenty of space.
Upon entry, the temporary situation is quickly appreciated. Trampolines for sleeping in different colors, bags of food and many people with red blankets. “It looks like it’s going to be cold here at night,” one of them said.
It is a gym and the floor is a parquet court. Several parents play basketball with their children to make the stay more pleasant. “I am here with my father and my two children aged 10 and 8. The children are playing basketball, they are delighted and want to stay here to sleep. Inside the evil they have fun“, explains Mavi Pérez to EL ESPAÑOL.
He lives in La Fresneda, a neighborhood in Campanillas. Your house was not flooded, but to access it You have to cross a completely flooded stream. Yesterday at noon, the national police arrived and evacuated them.
“I don’t know how long we will stay here in the lodge or if we will have to spend the night there. I work at Lidl and I’m supposed to go to work this Thursday at 6:00 p.m. but I don’t think I can“I’ll have to let you know,” Pérez said with some anxiety.
Mavi Pérez poses for EL ESPAÑOL in the gym where she lives with her children and her father.
A few meters away is an entire family sitting on stretchers. Grandparents, parents, grandchildren and even the dog. The grandparents are Antonio and Estefanía, the children are Iván and Lorena. One of the granddaughters is playing with a ball, the other is a baby on Lorena’s lap.
They have fatigue reflected on their faces after a sleepless morning and all the hustle and bustle of last Wednesday. “We stayed up all night.”. It wasn’t surprising. There has been an Amber Alert and they have a cabin located next to the river bank.
Four years ago, during a previous DANA, the river overflowed and it was with such violence that it toppled their facade. “Our cellar was flooded, we lost our car… We don’t know what everything will look like now”said Estefanía Pareja, resigned.
Last Wednesday, around 1 p.m., it was pouring rain. Nearly 80 liters per square meter. The national police went to evacuate them to avoid greater damage. “We thought about whether we should stay or not, but After seeing what happened in Valencia, we prefer to leave the house. Things get better, but life doesn’t.” said Ivan.
In the pavilion, they feel well taken care of. The Red Cross and Civil Protection personnel are numerous and they lack nothing. The baby is well cared for. They were told, like the rest of the people staying there, that They will find them a hotel room until they return home.
At the top of the pavilion stands is a woman sitting on the ground, wrapped in the red blanket the Red Cross provided them. He charges his cell phone and looks lost. She is Italian, she also lives in Campanillas and her house was flooded. He doesn’t want to talk.
A few meters away, there is another woman alone, also wrapped in the blanket. A Red Cross volunteer explains to her that psychologists will arrive in a few minutes in case she needs this type of service. Is called Ana Subires and he is 58 years old.
He also lives in Campanillas and his house is by the river, but his story is different. She was not evacuated but arrived at the pavilion alone because she was alone. “I went to the clinical hospital for a medical appointment, took the bus back and the buses were cancelled. There were no taxis either, so I came here. I don’t think my house is flooded because it has a high step, but “I thought I would be safer here in the pavilion.”he says.
Ana Subires from Malaga walked to the pavilion because she felt safer than at home.
The example of Valencia served to Raise awareness among Administrations and the population that it is better not to play with DANAS. Unlike what happened just two weeks ago in Malaga, where people had to be rescued from their homes with water up to their waists, this time the evictions were preventative.
There have been no deaths so far. Yes indeed, These people who live by the rivers know that it will neither be the first nor the last. Still on the edge of the knife.
