The Minister of Science, Innovation and Universities and General Secretary of the PSPV-PSOE, Diana Morant, has emphasized that "the meteorological agencies were able" to anticipate the dana of October 29, 2024, in which 233 people died, and "also now" the latest one, called Adam, which has struck the Comunitat Valenciana, especially the regions of Safor (Valencia) and Marina Alta (Alicante).
During her speech this Wednesday at the inauguration of the VII Ministerial Meeting on Science, Technology and Innovation, held at the Institute of Neurosciences of Alicante, Morant highlighted that, in the most recent episode, experts in science warned "days before" that it was going to be "of extreme risk to the safety of people."
In this regard, she stressed that "the meteorological agencies," referring to the State Meteorological Agency (Aemet), have managed "to issue a red alert" and that "thanks" to that warning, "to that early alert, the appropriate political decisions have been made."
The person in charge of Science in the central Government has recalled that "the Mediterranean Sea makes us a very vulnerable territory, very vulnerable to increasingly extreme climatic episodes as a consequence of climate change."
Referring to the dana Adam, she noted: "This time we have had to mourn again two deaths. It is true that there have been two deaths, we could say, rather collateral consequences, they have not been drownings as such."
Science in the phases of an emergency
From her perspective, "science, prediction has had a lot to do," and she elaborated that the "three phases" of an emergency are "prevention," "reaction," and "recovery," insisting that in all of them "science and knowledge are extremely important."
In the "prevention" stage, she explained, scientific evidence "helps" to anticipate. Thus, she emphasized that "the making of political decisions through scientific evidence is very important." According to Morant, in the dana Adam, "having learned from the previous occasion," referring to that of October 2024, "early warning messages were sent to all citizens."
Furthermore, he has recalled that "schools were closed, work centers were warned, citizens were warned not to transit through flood-prone areas, ravines, spaces where water flows, and already during the episode, it was warned that they should go to higher floors so that no one would be caught in low areas," something that "happened in the year 2024," he emphasized.
Morant has reiterated "How important science is for prevention and for warning us," and has added that "in the emergency phase" it is also key "to know what is happening in the territory through observation," for example "through satellite systems," to determine where to intervene and do so "safely, because in the end, emergency systems also need safety to act."
The minister has stressed that "in any emergency, the priority is to safeguard the lives of citizens and also of emergency services." He has recalled that "because people cannot stop water, we cannot put firefighters to stop water, we cannot put firefighters to stop fire, but we can make the best decisions based on those maps that technology and science today already provide us with that technology and that information."
Regarding the recovery phase, he has defended the need to adopt "the best decisions" and promote "more sustainable and more resilient constructions." He has emphasized: "How important it is that we learn and that we better protect citizens. How important urban planning is. How important it is to include science in reforestation or in reconstruction in an area that has already been flooded."
Morant has stressed that "all of this is science and we all need to talk about it, because, in addition, we have common challenges, challenges that do not know borders and that are global, and, furthermore, Spain has always wanted to be that bridge between the Ibero-American space and the European space and we want to continue being so today."
Pride in civic response and the scientific community
In relation to the recent rains, he has pointed out: "It happened in my house. The entire Comunitat Valenciana is my land, but it is true that this time it has happened in my house, in my region, in my city [Gandia], in the surrounding cities, with my neighbors."
She has added: "I feel very proud of the response that the public administration, the mayors, the mayoresses, and the citizens have given, with that demonstration of civility, paying attention to the recommendations, and I am also very proud of the scientific community that has helped us safeguard the lives of people."
Morant has insisted that "for all of them I believe that today we have to continue working to have better science that we can apply to the day-to-day lives of people and, of course, safeguarding life is one of the most important objectives."
In this line, the minister has emphasized the relevance of "talking about the fight against climate change" and how to promote from each country and also at an individual level "that necessary awareness, that great pact against the climate emergency that is needed at all levels, at the political level, but above all also at the social level." She has concluded by appealing to "bring society together in that great necessary pact against the climate emergency."