We have made an international fool of ourselves. While the new president of the United States, donald trumpcongratulated himself on the excellent management of the Florida hurricane in his first intervention after the elections, Spanish politicians are engaged in a campaign of mutual reproaches for DANA.
The image of the Kings trying to calm the spirits of the thousands of indignant people went around the world, showing the lack of foresight and lack of coordination of the Spanish public administrations. Why, if the State Meteorological Agency (Aemet) activated the red notice at 7:36 in the morning, was it not sent to Valencians’ cell phones until after 8 p.m. on that Tuesday, the 29th, when towns like Were Paiporta, Chiva or Utiel already flooded?
The answer must be found in the emails of the Júcar Hydrographic Confederation (CHJ), dependent on the Ministry of Ecological Transition, which still directs Teresa Ribera. Around 12 in the morning, the CHJ sends the first in which it warns that the flow of the Rambla del Poyo exceeds the safety thresholds (264 cubic meters per second compared to the recommended 150), which causes the Generalitat and Protection Civilians activate a hydrological alert in the riverside municipalities of the rambla, which saved many lives.
From that moment on, the CHJ’s oversight is unforgivable: at 1:42 p.m., 3:00 p.m., and 4:43 p.m., it sends two emails informing that the flow is falling below 150 cubic meters and maintains a “downward trend.” “. It is not until 6:43 p.m., two hours later!, when another email from the CHJ already reflects an uncontrolled situation, with a flow of 1,686 meters per second, ten times above the advisable limit.
Why did it take so long to report when at 6 p.m. it was already exceeding 1,700 cubic meters per second? The worst thing is that at 5:00 p.m. the Emergency Committee (Cecopi) met with technicians from both administrations and the alarm was sent three hours later. It seems that their concern was focused on the Forata reservoir, at risk of overflowing, and not on the Poyo ravine, which caused the great tragedy.
Ecological Transition and Mazón lost three key hours, which could have avoided the tragedy
Why did the Generalitat take from 5 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. to send the red alert to Valencians’ cell phones? The counselor responsible for emergencies, Salome Pradasacknowledged that he was unaware of the alert system and the Valencian president, Carlos Mazóndid not appear until 7 p.m. because he was at “a working lunch” with a journalist. Was it so important to abandon the citizens to their fate?
Mazón’s subsequent resistance to recognizing the magnitude of the tragedy, by not requesting sufficient resources from the Government, and the pettiness of the Executive of Pedro Sanchez By mobilizing the UMED and, above all, the Army in dribs and drabs, he complicated things even more instead of declaring a national emergency.
The organizational chaos of the Generalitat is manifest. There were dozens of small companies that offered excavator shovels or trucks to help in the search for bodies and cleaning, which were discarded because “they hindered emergency vehicles,” according to their complaint. Instead, it was an army of young volunteers who, bypassing access prohibitions, took to the streets with shovels and buckets to reach the flooded places, which generated an explosion of solidarity, although their help was not very effective.
There are inexplicable questions such as why the Minister of Defense, Margaret Roblesinvoked logistical problems to send more Army troops. The gigantic lack of coordination and the permanent exchange of accusations between politicians have shed light on the inconsistency of the seams of the State and caused, ultimately, a wave of indignation that exploded during the visit of the Kings.
Hundreds of people have died due to the administrations’ lack of foresight and the hundreds of thousands who survived were left without supplies and desperate to meet their basic needs. Sánchez announced a first plan of 10.6 billion, a third of what Mazón demanded, but conditioned its expansion on the approval of the Budgets. A kind of blackmail to the PP opposition to achieve their support, which Alberto Núñez Feijóo He reported immediately.
The Council of Ministers has the prerogative to use the contingency fund or to approve extraordinary credits, in accordance with the General Tax Law. In addition, the EU authorized the redistribution of cohesion funds or Next Generation funds. At the end of the third quarter, payments of the latter had been made for only 5,000 million, compared to the 36,250 committed, less than 14%.
What is striking about Sánchez’s rescue plan is the small amount allocated to companies, just over 800 million. The Valencian president estimated the cost of restoring the enormous damage suffered in business parks at 7,000 million. Thus, people who have lost their homes will be able to receive up to 60,480 euros in non-refundable funds, plus 10,300 euros for the purchase of government belongings, to which another 6,000 are added from the Generalitat. However, small businesses and commercial establishments will only be able to access a subsidy equivalent to 7% of the compensable damages, with a ceiling of 36,900 euros. That is, less than half that of an individual.
In the business world, the first words of Yolanda Diazwhich urged those affected to telework, when they were without electricity or internet and, many of them without a home, and encouraged them not to go to work to dedicate themselves to cleaning work. To make matters worse, Inri has just strengthened the Labor inspection.
On Monday the Government will approve a Royal Decree so that those affected can access paid permits from companies indefinitely and without the need to reward them. How are companies that ran out of stock or had their facilities damaged by the flood going to maintain their workforce? They are doomed to disappear.
Even worse was the reaction of the general secretary of Podemos, Ione Belarrawhich described Mercadona, Inditex, Coca-Cola and Ikea as “criminals” for keeping their workers “active”, when the Ikea store in Alfafar, for example, served as a refuge for more than 700 employees in the area, who thus avoided returning to their homes. Of duty court.
Each SME may have subsidies of 37,000 euros and those affected of more than 70,000, double
Sources from Cepyme, the association of small and medium-sized businesses, warn that it is an unprecedented situation that could lead to the closure of hundreds of small businesses and the self-employed. Cepyme explains that despite the Ertes or the deferrals of loans, the difference with other catastrophes such as Lorca or the La Palma earthquake is that in Valencia there is a total or partial destruction of industrial or commercial facilities, with a cost of reconstruction, that many will not be able to afford, since insurance only covers a percentage.
Business owners also demand that the ban on dismissal be suspended for those who benefit from the Ertes. “Many companies could survive with part of the workforce, but if they are forced to reinstate everyone, they will probably have to close.” Their demands are being conveyed to the Government, but it is like a dialogue of the deaf.
Nor has anyone put on the table an investment plan in hydraulic infrastructure to avoid more catastrophes in the future. With climate change, experts warn that the probability of repetition of these meteorological events increases.
theEconomist revealed that three dams planned more than twenty years ago at the head of the Poyo ravine are still unbuilt. The channels were clogged with reeds and sticks, which created backups that aggravated the flood due to the lack of cleaning. For more Inri, the connection between the blessed rambla and the Turia, which would have prevented flooding in towns near Valencia such as Aldaya, was paralyzed by the Orchard Law approved by Ximo Puig.
The area affected by DANA is not the one with the highest risk on the Levantine coast. It is therefore urgent to update the hydrological plan and launch the planned works, of which only half are done. There is still a lot of work to do instead of throwing things at our heads.
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