The mayors of municipalities hit by the dana of October 29, 2024, among them Catarroja, Benetússer, Alfafar, Utiel, Aldaia and the Valencian hamlet of Castellar-Oliveral, agree that, two years later, their localities have managed to recover part of the activity and the lost "vitality" after the tragedy and that they "already look more like what they were," although they emphasize that they will never "forget what was lived through."
This is conveyed by the mayors and the district mayor, in statements to Europa Press, on the occasion of the second anniversary of the catastrophe that left 233 dead.
The six municipal officials insist on the importance of restoring safety to their neighbors, who share their "fear" every time a new alert for intense rains is activated, and on the urgency of speeding up procurement procedures so that major projects do not get trapped in an administrative "limbo."
Utiel: slow progress and nervousness in the face of rain
In Utiel, where the Magro overflowed its banks and the first images of the floods in the province were recorded, its mayor, Ricardo Gabaldón, admits that reconstruction has progressed, but at a "much slower" pace than desired. He attributes this to the fact that procurement processes are "very tedious" and with "many deadlines," so he calls for this to "be taken into account" in future extreme episodes. "We have to put ourselves in the neighbors' shoes, who have been unable to live in their neighborhoods as before for two years," he argues.
He details that in the Fuente neighborhood, the most affected, there are actions "practically finished" and work is being done on projects such as the reopening of a bridge or the widening of a riverbed. However, he stresses that "there is still a lot to do," citing the reconstruction of a high school, a conservatory, a Civil Guard barracks or the C3 commuter line.
On the emotional level, the mayor of Utiel acknowledges that for residents it is "complicated" to avoid nervousness and fear in the face of new adverse weather warnings, "and even more so at this time of year." "We are all focused on that: you know which neighbors have had a very bad time," he says, although he clarifies that "in everyday life it is being overcome" and that the population "is working and has rebuilt its life and its businesses."
Aldaia: economic progress and pending hydraulic works
In Aldaia, the mayor, Guillermo Luján, maintains that reconstruction has "advanced a lot" from an economic point of view, but admits that, socially, "people still remain afraid every time it rains": "That is why it is urgent to move forward with the pending hydraulic works and thus be able to bring some peace of mind to our neighbors".
Among the ongoing actions in Aldaia, where protective gates are used in the Saleta when warnings are issued, is a municipal emergency plan in the urban stretch of the ravine, "about to be completed, pending the CHJ starting the general channeling project".
"Tied hand and foot" by bureaucracy
Luján denounces that the Contracts Law "greatly conditions the pace of reconstruction" of major infrastructures. "We are tied hand and foot," he laments, and calls for recovering the emergency formula "as soon as possible".
In Catarroja, where there were 25 deaths, its mayor, Lorena Silvent, states that they have recovered "a good part of daily life", although they still face "a lot of work ahead", with 38 files underway for an amount of 124 million euros. In her view, although "reconstruction has not been stopped", now "the effort has to translate into increasingly visible results".
"Our goal is not simply to return Catarroja to October 28, 2024 (...). We also want to build a safer Catarroja and one better prepared for the future," she emphasizes. To do so, she proposes speeding up contracting with an "intermediate formula" that does not mean extending the emergency regime indefinitely or renouncing legal certainty.
Silvent highlights the involvement of merchants and self-employed workers in reopening and the reactivation of activities, but warns that "not everything is resolved" because "when the rains return, the memory of what happened remains very present".
Alfafar and Benetússer: half-finished works and "a long road"
In Alfafar, where 15 deaths were recorded, the mayor, Juan Ramón Adsuara, estimates that 50% of the reconstruction actions and 60% of the sewer works have already been carried out. However, he points out that "everything carried out was during the emergency" and that the current interventions no longer benefit from that exceptional regime.
"Since March 7, all the defects that have been appraised afterward are in a bureaucratic limbo because we have already moved on to an ordinary procurement law", he criticizes. This implies, he explains, that major works valued at up to seven million euros remain pending. "They are two, three, four years of bureaucracy and a maximum of two of execution", he points out.
Adsuara considers that all the mayors in the dana area share this complaint: "Since the emergency ended, the ordinary has caught up with us. There is a shortage of technicians at Tragsa, in the town halls. We are trapped by bureaucracy. The 50% that remains for us to rebuild, we do not know when we will finish it".
In Benetússer, where 11 people died, its mayor, Eva Sanz, understands that progress has been made especially over the last year, although they are "aware that there is a long road ahead": "We knew it was a reconstruction that, due to its magnitude, was going to need several years".
Currently, actions are being carried out in different phases, such as the renewal of seven kilometers of sewer system, and the Government has transferred 48.7 million euros to "transform Benetússer over the next few years". Sanz admits that she, like the rest of the neighbors, wants to "see results as soon as possible", but insists on the dimension of the process.
"Our main concern is that Benetússer be better prepared for future floods", she says, and for that they are working on an early warning system and are calling for the barrier effect of the train tracks in the evacuation of water to be eliminated.
The mayor is committed to exceptional hiring mechanisms that are compatible "with all legal guarantees" and, above all, to strengthening human resources in the town councils.
"Today Benetússer already looks much more like the town we knew before the dana", she says, but she refuses "to convey an image of absolute normality" because "there are people for whom life will never be the same again" and emotional recovery remains open.
Castellar-Oliveral: visible works and psychological support
In Castellar-Oliveral, one of the three districts of València affected, its mayor, Sol Verdeguer, recalls that the first year was "especially complicated" because it was necessary to "restore normality", while this second year has made it possible to undertake "deeper" interventions with results already "visible".
It details that 90% of the damaged streets and street lighting have been resurfaced and renovated, surveillance cameras have been installed, and the public school has been waterproofed, while work is being carried out on the sewer system and on canals and irrigation ditches. For the coming years, the construction of a storm tank and a cycle and pedestrian walkway toward València is planned.
The district mayor calls for accelerating the procedures with "all legal formulas", including emergency contracting "when justified". "Behind every file there are people, families and real needs. And we cannot forget that," she emphasizes.
Beyond the works, she insists that her priority is "to care for people" and for that reason psychological and emotional support has been maintained, both individual and family, in addition to educational reinforcement.
At present she perceives "more strength and more activity" in the district and celebrates the recovery of the festivities and of other events that "identify them as a town". "Today I see a Castellar-Oliveral that has recovered much of its vitality, but that does not forget what it has lived through," she concludes.