The Generalitat Valenciana has activated situation 1 of the Special Flood Plan after the heavy rains and storms recorded this Wednesday in different points of the province of Valencia. The Emergency Coordination Center has also sent an ES-Alert to the mobile phones of the population due to the risk of flooding.
The warning asks the population to avoid travel, respect traffic closures, and, especially, stay away from waterways and ravines. Emergencies recommends that, if the water level begins to rise, citizens access upper floors of their homes.
The risk also concentrates in the ravines
The reference to the ravines is not a generic recommendation. In episodes of torrential rains, these waterways can experience very rapid rises, even if it is barely raining at the point where a person is located. The water that falls in areas located upstream can quickly move towards the lower sections and cause a flood.
For this reason, Emergencies has established a yellow hydrological pre-emergency in the Carraixet-Calderona area and in the Poyo-Saleta and Bajo Túria ravines, three areas especially sensitive to episodes of intense precipitation.
The Poyo ravine and the Poyo-Saleta system also have special relevance after the DANA of October 29, 2024, when the overflow of these waterways was related to a good part of the fatalities of that catastrophe. This Wednesday, the Poyo presented a high flow as it passed through Paiporta.
Intense rains in several municipalities
The precipitation has left significant accumulations in different points of the metropolitan area and the interior of Valencia. According to data from Avamet cited by Europa Press, 85 liters per square meter had been recorded in l'Eliana, 76.2 in Torrent, and 73.6 in Chiva, while Riba-roja de Túria, Llíria, and Paterna also exceeded 60 liters per square meter.
The situation has also caused incidents on roads and transport, as well as rescues of people who had become trapped in their vehicles in Torrent. The intensity of the precipitation has also affected Valencia airport and various services of Metrovalencia.
The State Meteorological Agency (Aemet) had warned during the day of a potentially adverse situation, with the possibility of more than 40-60 liters per square meter in one hour and more than 100-120 liters in two or three hours in certain points.
The main recommendation from Emergencies is to avoid traveling through flood-prone areas and not to approach ravines, dry riverbeds, or channels, as a rise can occur suddenly. The municipalities of the affected areas have been urged to strengthen the monitoring of the most vulnerable points.