The ‘president’ of the Generalitat Valenciana, Carlos Mazón, spent the entire morning of Tuesday, October 29, the day of the catastrophic DANA, chaining events and meetings unrelated to the approaching tragedy, despite the fact that Aemet raised the situation to red notice at 07:36 and warned – at 9:20 and with exclamation points – that “the danger is extreme!” At no time during the morning, despite the signs, did he suspend his agenda.
At 8:53, the ‘president’ asked in his X account for “prudence on roads” and “close attention to the instructions of the authorities.” The message included a previous tweet from Emergencies 112 about the red level alert on the southern coast of Valencia that asked to avoid driving by car “if not necessary.”
At nine, Mazón presided over the Plenary Session of the Consell. In the middle of the meeting of the regional Executive, the Aemet was already warning about the “important” and “even extreme” danger in some Valencian regions. At 10:45, Mazón presided over the ceremony to present to the Generalitat the certification of the tourism sustainability strategy by Aenor.
The event, held at the Palau de la Generalitat, was also attended by the Minister of Innovation, Industry, Commerce and Tourism, Nuria Montes, and the CEO of Aenor, Rafael García.
At 11:41 the Universitat de València had already suspended classes. About twenty schools had also suspended their activities. On the other hand, the Júcar Hydrographic Confederation (CHJ) announced, at 11:50, the overflowing of several ravines and the significant “flood” of the Magro River.
Despite this, around noon, Mazón left the Palau de la Generalitat and moved to Catalunya Avenue, to the headquarters of the General Directorate of Public Health, located at the northern exit of the city.
There, together with the Minister of Health, Marciano Gómez, he presented the Digital Health Strategy of the Valencian Community, a document to strengthen the health system with new technologies.
At 12:00 noon, in the last report from the Aemet, the warning remained unchanged. At 12:20 a special warning was issued about the Poyo ravine.
Back at the Palau de la Generalitat, shortly before 1:00 p.m., the head of the Consell appeared to assure that “at the moment there is no evidence of personal injuries at this time of the morning,” according to a teletype from the Europa Press agency published to 12:59.
In statements posted on the ‘president’s’ 6:00 p.m. reduce its intensity throughout the rest of the Valencian Community.” The message in X was later deleted.
“Our troops are fantastic and, therefore, it is advisable to follow the instructions given to us. Within what is happening, fortunately there is no material damage or hydrological alert and we all have to be very attentive and all very attentive to the professionalism of our troops,” he added in that appearance. The reality is that despite saying that there was no “hydrological alert”, his own government had communicated it 50 minutes earlier on social networks.
At 1:45 p.m., the head of the regional Executive had scheduled a meeting with representatives of the UGT unions and Workers’ Commissions and with the president of the Business Confederation of the Valencian Community, Salvador Navarro, to address the next 2025 budgets of the Generalitat. The meeting, as evidenced by the Europa Press photograph and teletype, took place.
At that time, in front of the Palau de la Generalitat, another institution controlled by the PP took a different path in the face of signs of disaster. At 2:00 p.m., the Valencia Provincial Council, chaired by Vicente Mompó, sent its workers home, according to an official email revealed by this newspaper.
Around 3:00 p.m., regional television À Punt reported that the risk was maximum, they asked people not to leave their homes and reported that the storm was going north. At 3:20 p.m., Utiel was already flooded and, at 4:30 p.m., the Military Emergency Unit (UME) was activated in the town.
The Minister of Justice and Interior, Salomé Pradas, who had gone to the 112 Emergency Center in the morning, called the first meeting of the Integrated Operational Coordination Center (Cecopi), established around 5:00 p.m. to direct the monitoring of the actions by the rainy season. At 6:30 p.m., the Poyo ravine overflowed in Torrent. Kilometers below, it flooded Picanya, Paiporta, Benetússer, Sedaví, Massanassa and Catarroja, where most of the victims died.
Es-Alert automatic alert came much later —at 8:12 p.m.— when hundreds of people were already trapped or dead.
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