DANA has caused havoc, once again, in the Valencian Country, where torrential rains have overflowed rivers and flooded roads. Although on this occasion the toll in human lives is unbearable, with 62 people having lost their lives so far in the region, a death toll that, to find precedents, would have to go back more than half a century.
The first warning of what was coming at a meteorological level dates back to last Sunday at 1:50 p.m., when the State Meteorological Agency issued, under the heading Special notice of adverse phenomena number 15/2024a detailed report in which it announced the arrival of a DANA that would discharge “with greater probability and intensity on the Mediterranean slope.”
Specifically, and as the report specified, the forecast handled by the AEMET experts already predicted an imminent alarm scenario: “As of Monday the 28th, the most adverse part of the episode […] Very heavy showers are expected without being able to rule them out today. [domingo 27]that reach locally torrential intensityin addition to being persistent.
Furthermore, the AEMET, in its report, placed the worst possible scenario on Tuesday: “On Tuesday the 29th, which is expected to be the peak day of this episode, the greatest probability of these intense rainfall will be in the peninsular Mediterranean area.” […] “It is likely that in parts of the Valencian Country and Murcia it will exceed 150 mm in 24 hours.”
But if that were not enough, the Júcar Hydrographic Confederation warned at 5:30 p.m. this Tuesday of a situation of “extreme danger” in “a good part of the province of Valencia.”
With such precedents, it is difficult to believe that the alert from the Generalitat Valenciana automatically reached all mobile phones in the province of Valencia at 8:12 p.m. this Tuesday, when many citizens were already in a very compromised situation.
What’s more, in the President of the Generalitat’s own statement, which took place at 1 p.m., Mazón only launched a series of general recommendations and, what is worse, went so far as to affirm that the situation had signs of abating: ” According to the forecast, the storm is moving towards the Serranía de Cuenca so it is expected that around 6:00 p.m. it will decrease in intensity throughout the rest of the Valencian Community.”
#Chronology #late #disaster #management #multiple #warnings #Mazón #notifying #population
