Of all the political positions that are immersed in the catastrophe of the DANAthose who are suffering the most due to the proximity to the horror are the mayors of the most affected towns. Their testimonies describe what can be described as a real hell.
The mayor of Paiporta, Maribel Albalat has lamented the “desperate” situation in the municipality, one of the most affected in the province. Four days after the catastrophic flood, he says that there are areas that still cannot be accessed: “It is impossible because there are bodies, there are vehicles with bodies, and they have to lift them. It is all very difficult.”
The first mayor of Paiporta has thanked the greater number of emergency services personnel working in the town, but specifies that “they are not enough” due to the “difficult” situation in which the municipality finds itself. “Those who come will be very well received,” underlines.
Albalat specifies that the worst scenario is the case of the central area of Paiporta, where so far they have not been able to enter. with machinery to cleanbeing the space that received the most avalanche of water. In this way, they have only been able to access it on foot to serve the citizens.
The first mayor points out that they are still in the process of recovering the fatal victims, which exceed 70 people in Paiporta and regrets that “more is expected”, since they are “trying to access the garages”.
After the recovery of the bodies of the deceased, which is in charge of the Military Emergency Unit (UME), the vehicles and various belongings in the streets will be removed, something they are doing, but “not in all neighborhoods.”
“We need the rescue and debris removal work to end so we can have access to all the roads and be able to begin to normalize” the supply of food, he explains. In this regard, Albalat appreciates the numerous solidarity contributions, although he comments on the difficulty of coordinating it with the “poor communications” in the municipality, which hopes that they will be solved with the antenna that is being installed.
As for other supplies, the mayor has celebrated that they already have drinking water service throughout the town, although “underpowered” for the moment, but it already reaches all homes. Electricity, for its part, is available in half of the municipality and they are working to restore it throughout the town.
Albalat reports that Tuesday’s floods have affected all of Paiporta, a municipality of 29,000 inhabitants, since “the ravine crosses and divides the town in two and it overflowed almost three meters”, so the water reached all the ground floors and garages. “We have no business, the local business has disappeared, everything is broken or looted,” he laments.
For this reason, given the lack of establishments such as supermarkets or pharmacies, the council has located food distribution points in Plaza Xúquer, in the Auditorium and in the CEIP Jaume I, as well as a health center that operates 24 hours a day for chronic and emergencies. “We are recovering, but we are going day by day and at a minimum,” he says.
The flood also took with it a town walkwaybut the mayor indicates that the bridges are in good condition and can be used, after being reviewed by technical personnel.
chiva
For her part, the mayor of Chiva, Amparo Fort, was very grateful this Saturday to all the institutions, emergency services and volunteers who are helping with the cleaning and supply tasks in the town, which has seven deaths after the passage. of DANA, and has indicated that the situation is “a roller coaster.”
“You see sadness, which logically we have been left without a townokay? But on the other hand you see with joy the response we are receiving from everyone. So, this is the atmosphere that I see, that people, despite everything, have not sunk,” she noted, excited, in statements to the media provided by the council.
Fort has stated that he has been surprised by the young people “in a brutal way, because they are turning to our population and the surrounding towns. They are not hesitating at any time. The truth is that because they are hard jobs, they are difficult jobs and there are real, real human waves of volunteers, especially young people, from the businesses here in Chiva, those who have begun to be able to work and in the conditions they are. doing”.
Thus, he praised “how they are supplying us with everything they can, gas stations, supermarkets, bakeries… It’s just that I don’t want to leave anyonebut of course the aid response has been brutal, brutal.”
Asked how she will face next week, she pointed out that now the main objective is to find the people who are still listed as missing. “Now they are still confirming to me if there are living people coming out of any garage, which we did not have located. So, at this moment our objective is thatlocate as many people as we can“, he pointed out.
Fort has explained that the emergency services have already managed to open the way to reach urbanizations and scattered areas and communicate with them to, in some way, be able to “send provisions, food, health services, heavy machinery and so on to start cleaning there too.” Therefore, “we are expanding the part of the term that until now will not be totally inaccessible.”
Furthermore, the municipality has recovered “at times” the light and water, which also allows you to have the telephone; and the service stations have been able to start up to supply all vehicles with shovels, tractors and Civil Guard and Local Police services.
The first mayor, who has asked that volunteers stop arriving because it is already difficult to manage the number, has stated that they continue to need water because “because even though in housing estates and others they have, “We cannot guarantee that it can be for human consumption.”
And he stressed that there is still ua totally dark urbanization and that there was a breakdown in the Pozo de la Solana, which is still ongoing, because although the emergency services got there, the generating sets in operation burned down last night and are again lacking water. “I would like Iberdrola to please solve the electrical fault we have there so that we can ensure the water issue,” he said and expressed his gratitude to all the institutions that are collaborating in helping the municipality.
Aldaia
The mayor of Aldaia, Guillermo Luján has demanded “urgent” help for a town where last Tuesday’s floods have affected “99% of the municipality.” “There has not been a business left, there has not been a home that has been spared and there are thousands of cars to be collected,” he maintains, while insisting that “the need is imperative.”
The first mayor of Aldai sees with “desolation and incomprehension” that Aldaia be classified as an area of low impact, when the situation is “catastrophic”, which is why it is urgent to send material and effective means.
“There are homes that They are trapped because they have cars in front of themwhich have been jammed,” he says, while adding that the ground floor and first floors have been greatly affected by the floods, after the water rose almost two meters.
According to official figures, there are six DANA fatalities in Aldaia, although they believe that the number may be higher, since the parking lot of the Bonaire shopping center“the largest in all of Valencia”, is being drained, something that will take 36 hours, and “cars have not yet been able to be recovered.”
The mayor appreciates the citizen mobilization, which has allowed the town’s image to change with the removal of mud, but specifies that “it’s still a car graveyard and a situation that seems warlike.” In this regard, he reiterates that “not a single bit of help has come from the institutions”; while he values the support and firefighters sent by the Valladolid City Council.
Regarding supplies, he points out that “a large part” of the municipality does not have water; the electricity has not recovered either completely and the internet connection does not reach, not even to the town’s operations center.
Luján explains that, currently, the town needs machinery to drain garages and for the removal of belongings and vehicles; while donations of food and clothing are not necessary at the moment.
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