Spaniards Demand Measures After Disaster in Valencia Region: 'Natural Disaster Completely Underestimated'

valencia - Spaniards are demanding two specific measures to prevent future disasters following the recent tragedy in the Valencia region.

All Spaniards are deeply affected by the disaster in Valencia that claimed over 220 lives. A recent survey conducted by the Spanish research institute GESOP reveals that the population in Spain is calling for two measures to avoid such tragedies in the future. In the Valencia region, a lot went wrong on October 29. Residents only received a warning SMS when they were already knee-deep in water, witnessing their loved ones being swept away, or watching their cars drifting through the streets. The demand for improvements in the emergency warning systems is loud: 91.6% of the population supports this. Carmen Alvarez, a resident of Barcelona, emphasized the urgent need for well-functioning warning systems. She criticized the delayed warning in Valencia after continuous rainfall throughout the day. The call for better emergency responses echoes across Spain. Emergency aid was also deemed slow to react.

Many Dutch residents in Spain share the same sentiment. Esther Stoel, who resides near Pedralba in the Valencia region, described the harrowing experience of being caught off-guard by the floods. She highlighted the delay in both the warning messages and emergency responses, emphasizing the misjudgment of the situation. Stoel also criticized the Spanish-only text messages, suggesting the need for multilingual alerts considering the expat and tourist population in Spain. She raised concerns about the tardiness of the emergency services and called for accountability from the regional government.

Three-quarters of the Spanish population is now urging for climate change mitigation measures in the aftermath of the 'Valencia' disaster. Interestingly, this call for action is bipartisan, with support from both left-wing and right-wing political supporters. However, not all members of the Dutch community in Valencia believe that earlier warnings would have made a significant difference. Ton Krijnen expressed skepticism, stating that little could withstand such a massive flood. Instead, he advocated for stricter infrastructure and construction standards in Spain to enhance resilience against extreme weather events.