Floods in Spain: How residents of Valencia were trapped without warning as the waters raged

Valencia, Spain
CNN
—

Adan Ortell Mor had an appointment to cut a client’s hair at his salon in La Torre, Valencia, on Tuesday evening at 7:30 p.m. But when the customer called to cancel because traffic was bad, it may have saved Mor’s life. Instead, he went home and saw reports of cars floating in the water of a town upriver.

“I said to myself, that water is coming this way,” he told CNN as he shoveled mud from his house. “I don’t think it will last long. I rushed to the balcony, looked around and there came the water. It was already on my doorstep.”

No warning. No warnings. That came about an hour later on his cell phone. A blaring alarm was sent to all residents of Valencia warning them of heavy rainfall and to stay at home. Far too late for the many people already trapped in the rising water.

This is the worst natural disaster Valencia has experienced in decades. According to the Spanish meteorological agency, a year’s worth of rain fell in less than eight hours. The water flowed down the rivers and tributaries towards the Mediterranean Sea, picking up cars and destroying bridges along the way. More than 200 people have been killed and authorities warn that the death toll is likely to rise.

But it is not unprecedented. Valencia suffered a similar deadly flood in October 1957, caused by the same seasonal weather phenomenon known as a Gota Fria or a Cold Drop. Dozens of people died in that disaster when the Turia burst its banks in the busy neighborhoods of the city of Valencia. It was so deadly that years later the city spent millions to divert the river.

How was Valencia surprised again?

Spain’s AEMET weather center in Valencia warned of heavy rainfall at 7.30am on Tuesday, raising the alert level to red in some areas and warning residents to stay off the roads in case of flooding.

At 10:30 am, firefighters were rescuing people from the floods in inner cities like Llombai. AEMET warned residents to be vigilant even though there was little rain in their area, as ravines and gullies quickly filled with water flowing from the mountains to the sea.

Around midday, Valencia regional president Carlos Mazon appeared to play down the crisis, saying the storm was subsiding, contradicting emergency services warnings. The statement was posted to X by his office but has since been deleted.

Around 5 p.m., Valencia’s emergency services were overwhelmed by hundreds of calls for help across the region.

It was at 8 p.m. that cell phones finally buzzed with the public alarm telling residents to stay indoors. Far too little, far too late, even for those downstream from the raging waters who might otherwise have had time to prepare.

Politicians point fingers at each other because they have not acted quickly enough. But ultimately, it is residents like seventy-year-old Valentín Manzaneque Fernández who suffer. the consequences. He is furious.

“The politicians are all villains. Are they removing mud here? They line their pockets to give us this? he told CNN as he joined the line of residents walking into the city for help. “The storm hit in the morning. But the water didn’t reach us until 8 o’clock in the evening. Yet no one warned us, nothing. No one cared.”

He slept outside on a neighbor’s roof terrace for two nights before deciding to slog through mud and rubble for hours from his home in the suburb of Sedavi to get food and water in the city of Valencia.

The water has receded, but recovery from the destruction will take weeks and months. Valencia’s highways remain blocked or only partially usable, often choked with washed-up vehicles. According to Adif, Spain’s rail authority, the train tracks are so badly damaged that service is unlikely to resume for weeks.

Mor does not wait for help from the government. When CNN spoke to him, he was covered in mud and clearing away the debris that had piled up in his family home with his own broom and shovel. Neighbors also pitched in, as volunteers arrived with waterproof boots, buckets and a grocery cart full of food and water.

His salon business, he says, is completely ruined. But he considers himself lucky. His parents survived the 1957 flood and he managed to get them to safety during this disaster.

‘It’s just material things that have been broken. The most important thing is that my family is safe. We will get through this, my family is doing well,” he said. “All we can do now is get to work and clean up.”