News on the media-Mediation (reporting facts)

On Wednesday 30 October, the people of Valencia, Spain, were confronted with the devastating consequences of flooding as the death toll began to rise.

The European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said, "what we are seeing is devastating." "This is the dramatic reality of climate change. And we must prepare to deal with it," she added.

In Spain, the public alert system - ES-Alert- was not activated in Valencia until late in the evening, long after the flooding had begun, and hundreds of people were already at risk. In the densely populated province, home to 2.6 million inhabitants, people went about their daily lives unaware of the growing danger. Although high-risk warnings were issued throughout the day, authorities did not officially flag them to the public, despite regional media urging people to stay home since the early hours of the afternoon.

While the University of Valencia cancelled classes and sent staff home as a precaution, most residents were left without any official guidance, and hundreds of businesses did not suspend their activities, putting the lives of their workers at risk. Responsibility for issuing a level 2 public alert (sent to mobile phones) lays with the regional government. They sent out the first warning at 20:11, by which time many people were already stranded by rising waters.

A second alert followed nearly an hour later, urging residents to move away from nearby rivers to higher ground. While no early alert could have fully spared Valencia from the economic toll, including damaged infrastructure and thousands of destroyed vehicles and homes, timely warnings might have prevented the human cost of over 200 lives – a figure that is expected to rise as the search for the missing continues.

Moreover, flood mitigation projects—which depend on the government in Madrid—intended to prevent exactly this kind of disaster have been delayed for over 15 years. While achieving “zero risk” is impossible, a consistent public investment could lessen the impact of inevitable weather crises.

The tragedy in Valencia reminds us that crisis preparedness is about safeguarding communities, protecting lives, and ensuring the structures we rely on in times of crisis are always ready, beyond the reach of shifting political winds.

https://p.dw.com/p/4mVOD