Tragedy in Valencia 158 dead and unprecedented crisis
Three days after the tragedy caused by Dana in the Valencia region, the death toll has risen to 158, while the search for the missing continues unabated, with numbers still uncertain.
Situation after the Floods in Aldaia
No victims were found after searches of 50 vehicles in the parking lot of the Bonaire shopping center in Aldaia, near Valencia. National Police spokesman Ricardo Gutierrez confirmed to reporters that emergency teams, made up of firefighters and soldiers from the army’s emergency unit (Ume), had been working since Friday to clear a 2,000 square meter underground area.
Emergency Operations
4 drones, kayaks and divers were used to carry out the operations. There were fears that the car park, with 1,800 underground spaces and a total of 5,700 spaces including those outdoors, could have become a submerged graveyard for customers and staff. However, inspections carried out by divers have shown that the most pessimistic predictions were unfounded. According to the mayor of Aldaia, Guillermo Luna, the car park was at “a minimum level of occupancy” when the area was hit by the floods.
New Alerts and Impacts
Due to the arrival of a new Dana in the Spanish Levante, the Civil Protection has issued a new red alert for torrential rains that are affecting the province of Castellon, Catalonia and Barcelona. Regional rail connections by the infrastructure manager Renfe have been interrupted, and at least 17 flights from El Prat airport have been diverted due to the floods.
“Felipe, don’t abandon us”, shouted the citizens during the visit of King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia to Paiporta. Despite the anger and protests that erupted in Paiporta, the monarch changed his official agenda to preside over a meeting at the command center of the Army Military Unit (Ume) in Torrejon de Ardoz (Madrid). Felipe VI assured the affected population that “the State is and will be present” in the municipalities devastated by the floods to deal with the calamity. The monarchs' visit to Paiporta and Chiva, considered the ground zero of the areas affected by Dana, was made on their initiative to express solidarity with the affected families. Although it was not recommended for security reasons, they wanted to listen directly to the needs of the local population.
