Valencian President Carlos Mazón Faces Criticism Over DANA Disaster Management
On Friday, Carlos Mazón, the president of the Generalitat Valenciana, distanced himself from any accountability concerning the catastrophic management of the DANA (Depresión Aislada en Niveles Altos) that resulted in over 220 fatalities. In a self-requested appearance before Les Corts, Mazón laid the blame on various national institutions, including AEMET (the Spanish Meteorological Agency) and the Confederación Hidrográfica del Júcar, which fall under state jurisdiction. He stated that these organizations had failed to provide his government with sufficient information to properly respond to the crisis.
Mazón expressed disappointment that long-established protocols, refined over the past 25 years, did not suffice to avert or alleviate the devastating effects of the torrential rains. While he opened his remarks by acknowledging potential failures on his part, it became clear that his criticism was primarily directed at agencies beyond regional control.
"The people of Valencia have the right to know everything that happened, the information that was handled, and the decisions made," Mazón declared. He questioned the accuracy of the weather forecasts and whether the systems for measuring rainfall and water levels were inadequate or overwhelmed by the extreme conditions, which in some areas climbed beyond 400 liters per square meter, far exceeding the predicted maximum of 180 liters.
He specifically pinpointed AEMET's late warning on Tuesday morning, which indicated only a 70% probability of rain, stressing the warning had categorized the expected weather as a 'torrential' rain event, something that had not led to such severe outcomes on 36 previous occasions in recent years.
Mazón expressed frustration over the lack of reliable information from the Poyo stream, where only a single water flow sensor was operational at the time. He highlighted a significant lapse where no data was available for two and a half hours, calling it an 'information blackout,' a situation he deemed negligent due to the Confederation's obligation to communicate data when water flow exceeds preset thresholds.
"I apologize because, while the protocols were applied, they were insufficient. Our detection and alert systems have cracks," he stated, emphasizing that the management undertaken by the Valencian government was the best under the circumstances with the information at hand.
The president had little to say regarding his three-hour dining engagement with journalist Maribel Vilaplana during the crisis or about the delayed mass alert sent to citizens, admitting only that he was aware of the heightened red alert while asserting that the Minister of Interior was in charge of handling the ongoing emergency. He noted that he arrived late to a CECOPI meeting due to heavy traffic rather than the crisis itself, maintaining that his presence did not slow down the process of alerting the public.
Mazón did concede that he had removed a video from his social media, wherein he inaccurately stated on the day of the disaster that the storm would subside around 6 PM. This erroneous information was initially based on comments from both the government delegate in Valencia and AEMET's local representative. He explained that he deleted the video to prevent the dissemination of outdated and potentially confusing information.
As the fallout from the disaster continues to unfold, many in the Valencian community are left questioning the government’s preparedness and response to extreme weather events and the transparency of communication during such critical times.
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