The Valencian Community experienced an episode of flash floods that left scenes of devastation and astonishment. Footage captured in the first minutes of the disaster shows how Mud, more than water, was the protagonist. Huge quantities of mud, branches, stones and even vehicles were swept away without resistance.
“Within minutes the avalanche of water began to arrive, No one warned us about anything… it was a matter of seconds“, says very excited María Amparo, a resident of Paiporta. “We went down and the water was already coming from here”, she emphasizes, pointing to her waist, trying to contain her emotion thinking of the speed and the violence of the phenomenon.
This phenomenon, which meteorologists called a “flash flood,” affected even areas that had barely received direct rainfall, especially those located downstream of the Turia and Magro rivers. Francisco Cacho, meteorologist from LaSexta, explained that the flow of the river increased by three meters in a few moments, which caused a cascade effect.
In Alfafar, the situation was no less shocking. A local shopkeeper described how mud seeped into the establishment like another customer as workers tried to protect themselves by climbing over cash registers. “Nothing, nothing, it will happen shortly”they initially commented in disbelief, until the unstoppable advance of the mud showed them otherwise.
José Luis Gallego, environmental broadcaster, explained in the program Al Rojo Vivo that these phenomena are not exceptional in areas with natural waterways, especially when it rains intensely in their sources. “It was not violent water, it was not wild water. But if this mass falls at the head of the rivers, This water will go down to the flat because this is its natural path” Gallego said.
These disasters remind us of the urgency of rethinking how we build and manage our environment facing the climate emergency.
