« The Generalitat must explain why it ordered to remove firefighters from Barranco del Poyo » | Spain

The Valencian President Carlos Mazón (PP) He loaded this Friday again against the central government After knowing the WhatsApp messages of the Chief of Climatology of the AEMET in that community published by the country where the lack of political decision was accredited for more than three hours to approve an alert destined to protect the population from a cold drop that has caused 224 dead and three missing. Mazón said that « at no time was the Poyo Barranco in the Cecopi, » the Emergency Coordination Center gathered since 17.00 of October 29. “The government never warned what was happening in the ravine that caused the catastrophe”, Mazón wrote on the social network X. The Tajo Hydrographic Confederation reported at 18.43 of a“ very fast flood ”in the Poyo ravine with measurements of 1,686 cubic meters per second. The Cecopi meeting, suspended between 18.00 and 19.00, discussed the sending of an alert minutes after seven in the afternoon although in no case linked to what happened in the Poyo ravine but with the situation in general, which was already “criticism” at 17.00.

The Secretary of State for the Environment, Hugo Morán (61 years) reconstructs for the country what happened that afternoon, and answers the criticism of President Mazón.

Ask. He Valencian president It accuses the central government of hiding information about the situation of the Poyo ravine, which is why there was no talk of it in the Cecopi and urgent measures could not be taken …

Answer. They (the Valencian government) were at that time in a somewhat confusing dynamic, the Cecopi meeting had been suspended, it is not known very well what time time were dedicating, there was no capacity at that time, from the political point of view, of ordering ideas and evaluating them based on the data. I am convinced that in the entire emergency technical structure of the Generalitat there was awareness from the minute one of what was the scope and severity of the catastrophe. What occurs is a break in the chain at the time when the decision -making capacity of the technical structure ends and has to give way to the political decision.

P. What kind of information and at what time did you facilitate it?

R. Beyond that moment in which a peak is once again in the verification of circulating flows in the Poyo ravine (18.43 in the afternoon), it is that in the morning there had already been a notice of the Hydrographic Confederation warning that flows were being measured that recommended to implement the emergency mechanisms. At 15.12, the Deputy Director of Emergency of the Generalitat appears in the news of à Punt (autonomous television) and says: At the moment the situation is alarming and with the data we have we have launched the surveillance mechanisms in the ravines, including the poyo, because the volumes that are being detected in the head will end up reaching the mouth and are very dangerous volumes. The surveillance of the ravines, as established, must be done in situ, On the ground, and who corresponds to the security forces, firefighters, environmental agents. Here what occurs in the morning is the finding of a brutal increase in flows, the information and emergencies of the Generalitat moves mobilizes firefighters and sends them to make the surveillance of ravines on the ground. Inexplicably, at three in the afternoon they are removed when all the weather predictions what they pointed out was that they were going to continue torrential rains, which is inexplicable that no one has given any explanation of why they retired firefighters at three in the afternoon and firefighters do not know. And that is the situation that is generated. The next thing reported by the Hydrographic Confederation is a novelty that occurs when the Cecopi is in operation, approximately five past five, which is the situation of the Forata dam.

P. At 18.43, when the Júcar Hydrographic Confederation informs about the alarming flood in the Poyo Barranco, I understand that these data arrive at the emergency authorities of the Generalitat Valenciana. Why not transcend that alarm in the Cecopi?

R. In the Cecopi, for some reason, everyone has panicked for the situation in the Forata dam, and any other information that comes to them seems to be irrelevant, but even though this is inexplicable what they do with the Poyo ravine. But if at that time they were focused on the Forata dam, they have the information at a quarter past five in the afternoon, when it is passed at level 2, it is not anyone reacts … What we know for the information you have of who they were present is that everyone begins to recommend that the alarm be launched. And that is what the meteorologist who appears in his (messages of) WhatsApp says, but it is a loop that repeats an hour and nobody makes any decision.

P. Why do you think Mazón clings to the idea that everything is the Government's fault for not informing about the flows of the Poyo ravine until 18.43?

R. It is that he has nothing left, he has nothing left to hold on. It is a kind of flight forward. It is that in this case the facts do not accompany him, as in all the versions he has given of the other things he has said. The Poyo Barranco, the Generalitat authorities knew their situation and mobilized their troops and inexplicably withdraw them. Who has to explain why having that information and having communicated the emergency deputy director who are very concerned about the situation of the ravines withdraws the troops. By the way, the first floods that are produced are not because of the waters of the Avenues of the Poyo Barranco, but are for the ravines that remain downstream from the measure of measure of the ravine of the poyo. It is true that everyone comes to converge there. But there are other ravines that generate a avenue of water that is ultimately leads to mobilize, for example, to the UME. And that is done very early. It is to twist the arguments, ignoring the context as a whole, looking only at the ravine of the poyo … but, hey, if people were already drowning much earlier, the mobilized ume was already. Explain why they ordered firefighters to retire. They intend to believe that there is a political decision that did not transmit the information. There is no political decision in this whole process. When an emergency is triggered, it is the technicians who are in the different services that are responsible for the management of information and report to the political sphere … The president of the Hydrographic Confederation called me when a recess occurs in the Cecopi to tell me what is happening.

P. And what does it say?

R. That nobody decides anything. They are worried because they have been going around the information for two hours and there nobody makes any decision.

P. It means that the technical data were, but the political decision was missing …

R. Yes. The AemetConfederation and Emergency Services of the Generalitat are in permanent contact. Exchanging the information and evaluating the dimension of gravity. But there they stay. From there a cap occurs and what should be automatic is not. And for some reason, that I know what it is …

P. Which is it?

R. Who has followed the wanderings of Mazón throughout that day … is easy to deduce. About 12.30 he has a meeting with unions and entrepreneurs in which he comes to say that the decision of the University of Valencia to declare the alert and suspend the classes is absolutely disproportionate and that he has no reason to be. At that time, Mazón has determined that he will not declare the alert because it seems unnecessary, out of place and overact. And he says. And if he says it, The counselor That he is responsible for emergencies as he can no longer speak with him until 17.30 in the afternoon, that woman does not dare to make any decision because the instruction that gives direct or indirect Mazón that morning is that he seems absolutely disproportionate and out of place the alert statement. My interpretation is that this decision is not made until Mazón rectifies and unfortunately does it at the time.