The president of the Association of Fatal Victims DANA 29-O, Rosa Álvarez, has urged the Valencian citizens not to forget or "turn the page" on the tragedy of October 29, 2024, in which 232 people died in the province of Valencia. She has assured that she will not allow "it to happen the same way" as with the Valencia metro accident, where the victims "took 15 years to achieve justice".
In this line, she has demanded that the population of the Valencian Community "think very carefully when putting the ballot in the urn" in the upcoming regional elections, because "our lives depend on it, literally". She has also made it clear that they will not sit down with the 'president' of the Generalitat, Juanfran Pérez Llorca, while he keeps the 'ex-president' Carlos Mazón as a PP deputy in Les Corts.
Álvarez has intervened in the table "Protecting the territory, protecting people: dana, emergencies, climate, water, and infrastructures," held at the PSPV Political Conference in Alicante, where she emphasized that protecting people without safeguarding the territory is "unviable". She has defended "rethinking very well" the reconstruction model after the dana, reminding that the Valencian Community has a "very peculiar" territory and a "very characteristic" climate, and has lamented that there are currently "managers who do not know" how to face it. "Those characteristics are not going to change, the territory is what it is," she has emphasized.
As she has pointed out, "you cannot change 800,000 people from where we live, but we can change who manages." Therefore, she has reiterated her call to "think very carefully when putting the ballot in the urn, because our lives depend on it, literally." "Depending on who governs, we can live or not live," she has warned. She has demanded that the lives of people be "at the center" of the reconstruction and territorial policies, insisting that "we do not want a catastrophe like the 29O to happen again."
Criticism of the Generalitat and demand for respect
Rosa Álvarez has denounced that the Valencian Generalitat has not shown "institutional respect" towards the victims "at any moment" and has reproached that they have not "listened" to them either. "They have mistreated us, they have called us VIP victims and with real rubbing rights," she has assured.
About the 'ex-president' Carlos Mazón, he has reiterated that the association always made it clear that they would not meet with him as they consider him "the main responsible for the death of our relatives." Regarding the current head of the Consell, Juanfran Pérez Llorca, he has reiterated that they will not interview him either "as long as he keeps the ex not honorable" as a deputy of the PP in Les Corts and with "all his privileges," and has pointed out that "it will be difficult" to sit down with the current Valencian Government because many of Mazón's consellers continue in their positions.
Likewise, he has criticized that until a few months ago they were not recognized financially as victims, although he has insisted that their claim is not "for money." "The vehicles, the damages have been recognized, but the lives of people have not," he has criticized, although he has admitted that the Consell "had no choice but to finally issue" the compensations for the relatives for the loss of lives.
"Change the approach" to emergencies and climate
The general director of Civil Protection, Virginia Barcones, has emphasized the relevance of anticipation to protect the population against environmental disasters, as opposed to a "mere reaction when emergencies occur." She has defended the need to educate citizens and strengthen risk prevention in order to "minimize" the impact of these episodes.
In this line, she has advocated for "changing the approach" to avoid "reacting late" when an emergency occurs and has highlighted the importance of conducting drills and testing action plans. "Everything in life has consequences," she has stressed, acknowledging that those who experienced the dana of 29O have been "marked forever." Regarding the victims, she has claimed that they deserve "justice and reparation" and has reminded that society has a "moral debt" with them, while pointing out that public managers must strengthen the capacities of the national Civil Protection system. She has warned that those who deny climate change "will hardly" be able to prepare for its effects.
Barcones has reiterated that climate change is an "objective reality" visible "every day" in the historical highs of temperatures, heat waves, fires, or rains. "Science says it: climate change is here, it kills, and the only thing we can do is prepare to minimize the damage," she has pointed out.
"The perfect storm for danas or floods"
It has explained that it will not be possible to "prevent 400 or 500 liters from falling in two or three hours at another time" and has warned that next autumn "looks terrible," since at the end of September "it is as hot as we rarely remember" and the summer has recorded "extreme" temperatures, with a Mediterranean that is especially warm. "Every time cold air comes in, it will be the perfect storm for floods or inundations," it has warned.
The head of Civil Protection has reminded that the competencies in emergencies correspond "constitutionally" to the autonomous communities, which must "transfer the warnings in alerts," update the plans, and use tools like the ES-Alert system. She has also defended the need for municipal planning with technical support from the Generalitat, insisting that in this area one cannot "improvise" and highlighting that, in an emergency, "time saves lives." "We have to beat time, every second counts," she has emphasized.
Years to recover normality
The Government's commissioner for reconstruction, Zulima Pérez, has assured that the reconstruction is "very advanced," and has identified as priorities the preparation of the territory and the improvement of warnings to the population. She has accused the Generalitat Valenciana and its 'president', Juanfran Pérez Llorca, of "not exercising their competencies" and has denounced their "negligence."
For her part, the mayor of Benetússer, Eva Sanz, one of the municipalities affected by the flood, has pointed out as pending tasks the review of urban planning plans, the simplification of bureaucratic procedures, and the elimination of ground floors as housing. She has warned that municipalities have "years to return to normality" and has demanded a "strong" Generalitat to support the municipalities in the coming years.