Terracotta brown colors the images that arrive via satellite from l’Horta Sur de València. The Turia acts as a border; It separates a stealthy – but neat – capital from emptiness, from uncertainty, from disaster. Upstream, Valencia; downstream, Paiporta, Sedaví, Alfafar, Picanya either Massanassa. The Turia separates, to put it another way, having everything and being left with nothing; families living in two completely different centuries. “The neighbors need us“, in the words of the volunteers who have been crossing the border to collaborate “in whatever it is, in whatever is necessary.” The mayors, four days after the tragedy, continue to ask for resources: “We need more personnel, professionals. This is a war landscape“.
Pedro Sanchez announced this Saturday that he will send to the Valencian Country everything that the president of the Generalitat requests, Carlos Mazón. So suddenly, during the next few hours, they will arrive 5,000 more soldiers and as many national police and civil guards. The idea is that these troops can join the search and rescue efforts for victims that DANA has left, in what Moncloa defines as the largest deployment “in times of peace.” Sánchez says he will avoid taking control because he believes that “The Valencian authorities know the terrain better than anyone“, but he urged the Botànic Government to ask for everything it needed.
The President of the Government has acknowledged that the errors committed by both administrations will be analyzed, but has asked to leave the reproaches for later. Perhaps, by the time the people who are still trapped can leave their homes; or for when the bodies that remain under the mud can be recovered. “The situation is tragic. I know that the response is not enough, that there are severe problems and shortcomings. I know we have to improve and give our all, but we have to do it together“, the leader of the Executive has slipped.
Mazón picked up Sánchez’s gauntlet at the end of the day and asked to manage the catastrophe jointly, that is, with the intervention of the Government. The popular has announced the creation of “five immediate response groups” who will act under his delegation, but with the help of up to seven ministries. Mazón recognizes that, “once most of the accesses have been guaranteed and opened, there are more than 7,000 soldiers in action” and he once again commits to transmitting a unit image: “We are going through the worst moment in our history. I hope that the Government of Spain is up to the taskas until now.”
The mayors take the reins and ask for “resources”
94% of the electricity supply points affected by DANA have already recovered service, as have half of the telephone lines lostas detailed from Moncloa. Maribel Albalat, mayor of Paiporta, the town with the most fatalities due to the floods, currently only receives the calls that come through WhatsApp. “I’m. I’m alive“, responds on the other end of the phone. The neighbors – the survivors – of ground zero have been removing the mud, cleaning the streets and searching for those who are still missing since Wednesday. The response is led by city councilsAt least, that’s what the volunteers say.
“The plans we work with are quite rudimentary, because we have lost any element of coordination. Every day, we set goals. This Saturday was to recover the mobile phone network and we are working on it. We do what we can, with a lot of helplessness, a lot; but also a lot of determination. Paiporta has to bounce back,” its mayor emphasizes. Maribel recognizes that it is “impossible” to think in the long term, nothing beyond “the next 24 or 48 hours.” She asks, however, “heavy machinery and human resources for cleaning the streets; Army people.” The councilor appreciates the mobilization of the neighbors and sends a message to the media: “This is going to last a long time, please, Don’t forget Paiporta when in a week it stops being news“.
TO Josep Almenarmayor of Picanya, the call of Public He catches it between shovels and sirens. The voices of neighbors, volunteers and emergency personnel can be heard in the background; the voices of solidarity. The same thing would have happened if Josep picked up the phone later, because, “since the water started to go down a little,” he has been coordinating – with his team – the cleaning and rehabilitation work on the streets. “If we don’t do it, no one will do it. We are trying to remove all the mud, bail out the water in the shallows, coordinate the surprising number of volunteers who arrive every day. The town is a disaster. We have gone back more than 40 years since Tuesday“he insists.
Almost all the houses in Picanya They have recovered electricity and drinking water, they also have food and material to continue workingbut they need “heavy machinery“If not, it is impossible to move the towers of cars and the almost two meters of mud that still cover some streets. A mud that, with the heat, begins to dry. “The mobilization is being impressive. A kid was now telling me that there were 40 people working in his house and he didn’t know more than five,” highlights the mayor, as an anecdote. Asked about the reconstruction of the town, he answers: “This is going to be a long time, I would sign to return to normality within ten yearsbut we need a lot of help.”
The mayor of Sedaví, Jose Francisco Cabanesconsiders that the priority at this time “is to remove the corpses and clean the streets, to avoid the transmission of infections and diseases.” The councilor also asks for a “faster” and coordinated response from the administrations. The mayor of Chiva, Amparo Forthas also attended Efe, visibly moved. “This is a roller coaster, we see sadness, we have been left without a town; but also [vemos] happy for people’s response. Young people have surprised me brutallythey are turning,” he said.
Solidarity overflows the streets
The call from the Generalitat has had an effect. Mazón made an appeal and summoned the Valencians this Saturday at the City of Arts and Sciences. The idea was to organize volunteers to prevent an avalanche that could hinder access points and, above all, rescue tasks. Nearly 10,000 people have gathered in the vicinity of the complex, according to the Botanic Government. “We have seen more coordination than these days, and it was necessary. In Valencia, we all know a family member, friend or co-worker who was affected [por la DANA]. It’s the least we can do to help“says Lucía, who lives in the capital.
Cesc has been volunteering for three days in the towns at ground zero, devastated by the floods. The general feeling since Wednesday was that there was a lack of troopsbut this Saturday they have begun to see “a little light”, some clarity among the mud, even if it is little. “What I have noticed is more organization. The town councils are more organized; You arrive and they tell you what to do, where you can lend a hand.. Of course, many streets are still clogged and garbage is beginning to accumulate; We need the military for a reason, because without heavy machinery, it is beginning to be impossible,” the young man concludes. The mayors are grateful for the popular mobilization and remember: “Alone we cannot“.
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