Water is especially scarce in the storm zone: people in Piporta, Valencia, fill the bottles they carry with them. Image: trapezoid
After the Valencia storm, the affected areas entered a state of emergency. Relatives talked about their families' experiences at the scene.
Valencia is going through dark times, two days after a devastating storm caused severe flooding in the city's southern suburbs. Photos of cars piling up on muddy streets and destroyed highways circulated around the world. Authorities initially said at least 95 people had died, but on Thursday the death toll rose to 155 in the Valencia region alone.
However, the storm caused by the “Dana” weather phenomenon is not over yet. Meteorological services and authorities are warning of more storms in the coming days.
“The weather emergency is not over yet.”
Aemet, the official meteorological service of the Valencia region “X”
Watson spoke to several people in the Valencia region whose relatives live in flooded villages and towns.
African Picras is one of them. Since Tuesday, the 26-year-old girl, who lives in the city of Valencia, has been sharing on her Instagram profile any information she receives from the police or local family members about the situation in the affected villages. She told Watson:
“The help comes mostly from the people themselves.”
Her family lives in Cataroha, one of the suburbs hardest hit by the storm.
“My mother was out on the street when the flood came. I was on the phone with her and all of a sudden she started screaming. She hung up the phone and the next thing I knew she was trying to rescue people and get them safely into their homes.”
Her brother was locked in a supermarket on Wednesday night and was briefly unavailable. At 1 a.m., reports of the first death came out: “I knew someone was dead, and at first I thought it was my brother.” In the early hours of the morning, he and other trapped people were finally rescued.
Another man, whose family also lives in Cataloha, told Watson:
“My family lost their home and everything they owned. I can barely communicate with them.”
A woman with relatives in Sedavi, another affected town, told Watson that water levels were rising rapidly:
“One moment, the water was up to their ankles, and a few minutes later, it was up to their waists.”
Her relatives could have broken the basement window and rescued the neighbor from the basement. “Otherwise he would have drowned.”
Disaster scene in Cataloha on October 31, 2024.Image: trapezoid
Ask for help on social media
Now the water is gone, but the need remains. Several people with local connections told Watson that flood-affected villages have been without water and power since Tuesday. Internet connections and networks are constantly disrupted, and some people are unable to contact their loved ones.
Some of them are trying to get help from the city of Valencia, which has been largely unaffected. In addition to calling for donations of water, food and medicine, emergency phone numbers and hard-to-access information about the situation in individual villages and communities are shared.
On Thursday, some people tried to reach affected suburbs on foot to search for family members or to bring much-needed water and food to the area.
People have also been looking for their parents, friends or colleagues on social media since Tuesday night. An Instagram account created specifically for this purpose collects missing persons reports. Photos of young people, old people, entire families or pets are posted there, along with where they were last seen and when contact was lost. Some have reappeared and others are still missing since Tuesday night.
On October 31, 2024, a woman walked through the streets of Cataloha.Image: trapezoid
Lack of understanding is huge
Relatives are concerned about the actions of authorities. “We have actually been on alert since Monday,” Piccoloes told Watson in Valencia. The Meteorological Service has issued a warning about the known “dana” weather phenomenon in the Iberian Peninsula.
Universities canceled classes due to severe weather warnings, but many employers still recalled workers. A person on the scene told Watson that there is a lot of industry in southern Valencia and some factory workers were trapped inside until Thursday.
The rain stopped in Valencia on Tuesday morning and authorities lifted the alert in the afternoon, Piclas said. Go one step further:
“The regional government of Valencia said on Tuesday afternoon that by 6 p.m. all danger would be over and that by 7:30 p.m. villages would be flooded.”
Just after 8 p.m., the government finally issued a mobile phone alert asking people not to leave their homes.
Piccolo is disappointed with the Valencian regional government and wants consequences:
“That was an oversight. I think the government should resign.”
What is most important now is that help reach the affected areas so that all those still trapped or missing can be rescued or recovered. However, Piclas was already scared of what was going to happen next.
“Right now people are still on edge and are doing what they can to help. They're taking care of elderly people who can't leave their homes and bringing people into their homes that they don't know. There will also be psychological consequences when this is all over.”
Impressions of Tuesday's storm:
Video: watson/emanuella kälin
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