It wasn’t enough time. At 8:10 p.m. the first mobile alert from the Emergency Coordination Center (CEE) sounded. of the Generalitat Valenciana in all terminals of inhabitants residing in the province of Valencia. But it had been raining for hours, even in towns like Utiel or Requena, one of the most affected by this tragic episode of DANA in the Mediterranean, it had stopped. The torrentiality of the accumulated rainfall, the flooded channels and the drag effect of the floods did the rest. During the afternoon, the first rescues of people trapped in their cars or who had climbed to the top of the roofs of their houses had already occurred, but the worst was to come during the night.
On Antena 3, live last night, a resident of Utiel asked for faster action from 112 of Emergencies and Civil Protection because the power had gone out in the entire town and many people were in a desperate situation. With the onset of night the drama has been confirmed.
In the first warning to the citizens of Valencia, the inhabitants of the entire province were informed preventively and were urged to remain attentive to future warnings and inform themselves about the weather conditions through official sources. Also from the Valencian television A Punt. But we are talking about 8:10 p.m., when many people no longer had time to prepare and pick up their loved ones or go to a safe place. In fact, Utiel’s own neighbor, Javier, stated that he had returned from work after 7:00 p.m. when the disaster struck. Many citizens in Requena were inside their homes when the whistle sounded and declared that they had not known what to do.
Second massive notice to citizens
This morning again the CEE of the Generalitat Valenciana has launched the second Civil Protection alert Es-Alert due to the heavy rains in which he has asked citizens to avoid traveling by road in the province of Valencia. The warning no longer derives from bad weather conditions, but from the state of the roads and the difficulty of driving. It is requested, and the Valencian president himself has also done so, Carlos Mazónavoid any type of movement. The situation is very complicated.
The massive and direct alert system for the population ‘ES-Alert’ in the event of emergencies and catastrophes sounded this morning for the second time at 7.10 am. When the message reaches a mobile phone a shrill, repetitive beep soundswhich is different from what is heard when an SMS or WhatsApp is received and remains on the screen until the user clicks on the ‘accept’ option that also appears on it. The use of these warning messages has its drawbacks, such as there are people, especially elderly people, who do not have a terminal or who depend on other people. Mobile coverage and communications have also been down for hours in Valencia, but mobile messages have arrived.
It was the first time that after official drills these notices reached all terminals in the Spanish Levante Community. As sources involved in the design of the system explain to ABC, the ES-Alert system is immediate. It depends on the General Directorate of Civil Protection of the Ministry of the Interior, but it activates – in this case it did – the regional system: once the system operator (belonging to regional or state Civil Protection) enters the alert message and determines the geographic scope for dissemination, the message is ready to be validated by the supervisor (autonomous or state). With this validation, it is issued immediately. In the configuration of the message, you choose the time in which it will be valid and the frequency, if applicable, of repetition. The entire process can be done in ten minutes.
From there, citizens’ perception of risk also comes into operation, if they conceive that they have to get out of danger or ignore the message. In towns like Taiwan and Japan, accustomed to natural disasters due to their geographical location and the orography of both, a message to the mobile phone warning of a hurricane, typhoon or tsunami implies that everyone seeks shelter, leaving everything behind, because they know of the proximity of danger. However, as Civil Protection sources point out, “in Japan they are more aware of catastrophic risks because they are more exposed to them. We, not so much. It is a question, in any case, of training. And prevention. In emergencies, “The essential thing is prevention. Warn as soon as possible and comply with minimum safety standards.”
Well yes. The Aemet alert, at 7 something in the morning. The alarm message at 8 and a little at night. Workers and students trapped in their jobs or going to and from work. Without going any further, unfortunate. But you add the vee and it’s amazing. Dept.
— Joe_Cabot (@Joe_Cabot) October 30, 2024
User complaints, however, occurred in different ways. In X some citizen protested.
A warning cannot be issued at 8:00 p.m. when the Magro had already overflowed and devastated Utiel. Didn’t anyone think about the ramblas? It is absolutely shameful. @AEMET_CValencia warning . What were you waiting for? Chaos and more chaos.
— Amparo Og (@AmparoOg) October 30, 2024
During the day on Tuesday, the State Meteorological Agency activated the red alert due to heavy rains in the province of Valencia, where historical records of 500 liters of rain per square meter were reached. The first warning voice on Tuesday, October 29, was given by the Emergency Coordination Center at 12:20 p.m., when it warned of the message of the increase in the flow of the Rambla del Poyo as it passes through Ribarroja after the warning from the Júcar Hydrographic Confederation .
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