High alert for more flooding in Valencia and southern Catalonia

Valencia and southern Catalonia are on maximum alert again over the possibility of more flash flooding on Thursday. 

Civil Protection has sent an emergency alert message to mobile phones in the counties of Baix Ebre, Montsià, and Terra Alta, all in southern Catalonia, with an order to restrict mobility for the next three hours.

The Valencian government has sent a similar message to alert people in the province of Castelló, asking them not to leave their homes for the coming hours because of the ongoing extreme weather event.

Across Valencia, Castile-La Manch, and Andalusia, there is a provisional death toll so far of 158. 155 of those are in Valencia.

The message asks citizens not to leave their homes, to stay in elevated areas and, if they are outside, to take shelter in high places, and not to drive on roads.

The situation is particularly worrying on the coast and in the northern interior, where, at mid-morning, the State Meteorological Agency (AEMET) has increased the warning level from orange to red.

Classes have been cancelled in the area and businesses have been encouraged to close and facilitate workers to go home. 

The president of the Valencian region, Carlos Mazón, has announced an aid package of €250 million for those affected by the flooding. He said in a press conference that authorities will approve such a decree next Tuesday.

He explained that this is an "initial and expandable" figure and that the aid will be "direct, express and without bureaucracy."

The aid will be a minimum of €6,000 per person affected and fully compatible with those promoted by other administrations.

Spain's Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, explained on Thursday morning that the Military Emergency Unit (UME) yesterday rescued more than 110 people and retrieved 24 lifeless bodies from the areas affected.

She explained that the priority will continue to be the search for people missing in the floods, especially in towns such as Paiporta and Massanassa.

Damage to train infrastructure

Spain's Minister of Transport, Óscar Puente, has made a first assessment of the effects of the storm on transport infrastructures in the affected areas on Thursday.

Puente explained that three of the five Rodalies lines that reach Valencia "have disappeared," that there is "very serious" damage to the roads, and that the high-speed rail connecting Valencia and Madrid will take at least two to three weeks to get back to normality.

Ports and airports are still in "perfect condition" but have many access complications.

He also asked owners of vehicles that have been abandoned on roads not to go looking for them because the priority now is still to find missing people and it is necessary to limit mobility.

According to him, there is still no calculation of the economic scope of these damages yet, but the ministry will activate the necessary resources and contracting mechanisms to restore normality "as soon as possible."

The minister also warned that there is "very serious damage" to the roads, and that "it will take a lot of time, effort and money" to make the necessary repairs.

Political criticism

In an interview with Telecinco, Margarita Robles, of the ruling Socialist Party in Spain, said that "at this moment there can be debate and political controversy," referring to the management of the flood by the Valencian regional government. 

Months after taking office in 2023, the People's Party's Carlos Mazón, president of the Valencian region, abolished the Valencian Emergency Unit, a body designed to respond to natural disasters such as floods, as part of a "restructuring of the public business sector." 

On Tuesday, Mazón rejected activating the maximum alert mechanisms after the AEMET announcement in the morning, and in the early afternoon, he announced that by 6 pm the storm would decrease in intensity across the whole Valencian region.

"Everyone knows perfectly well what they have done well and what they have not done, and they must be self-critical," Robles added.

39 arrests for looting

Police arrested 39 people as part of a special crime prevention unit launched in the commercial areas most affected by the floods.

Spain's National Police informed that many looted items have been confiscated, including items of jewelry. 

Although the police do not give more details of the events, they would have occurred on Wednesday night in commercial areas affected by the storm.