Where to begin, what to add to the news that has unfolded through all channels of communication, that has reached every corner of the earth?
Today is November 9, 2024. Eleven days have passed. The phenomenon, known as “Isolated High Level Depression”, has mainly affected the Valencian Community. On Tuesday afternoon, October 29, the DANA unloaded all its torrential fury over the province of Valencia, affecting 75 municipalities from west to east, from the interior to the Mediterranean Sea. A friend of mine from Paiporta, the most affected municipality, declared ground zero, told me: Everything happened in half an hour; from 18:30 to 19:00.
The Archbishop of Valencia, Monsignor Enrique Benavent,” he told Vatican News:
“It has been an experience, really surprising for all of us, both for the magnitude of the tragedy and for how quickly the events happened, in fact, on Tuesday night, when we went to rest, we were aware that it had been a great DANA, but we were not aware of the magnitude of the tragedy.”
Some official figures that we read today:
– Confirmed fatalities: 220 (212 in Comunidad Valenciana; 7 in Castilla-La Mancha; 1 in Andalucía).
– Autopsies performed: 219, of which 8 died of causes unrelated to the DANA.
– Identified: 183 (total).
– Delivered to relatives: 128.
– Persons rescued: 36,721 (total), 64 in the last 24 hours.
– Municipalities affected: 78 municipalities (75 in Valencia; 2 in Castilla-La Mancha; 1 in Andalusia).
– The municipalities are grouped in the regions of Utiel-Requena, Ribera and L’Horta Sud. There are 845,371 inhabitants, equal to 31% of the population of Valencia. Of these, 75,000 inhabitants are directly affected.
– Severe damage in 32 municipalities, with a population of 535,479 inhabitants.
– Industrial estates must be added, especially with small and medium-sized companies (4,119 affected and a total of 220,000 jobs).
– Students out of school: 24,000.
Houses, furniture and all kinds of belongings and facilities, businesses, vehicles, agriculture, livestock… Roads have been damaged (650 km), bridges have fallen, train tracks have been seriously damaged (80 km)… which has left, to a large extent, no communication between Valencia and Madrid, among other cities and municipalities. These are multi-million dollar losses and it will take time to repair the infrastructures. Many houses have collapsed and others are in danger of collapse (the number of damaged buildings is estimated at 33,000). It is devastating to see every day the villages flooded, full of mud and everything lost piled up along the streets. Many subway garages are still full of water.
The cars, dragged by the water, were pushed against walls, piled up on top of each other and many streets were completely blocked. In Paiporta alone, 90% of the vehicles were lost.
Many people drowned when they tried to get their cars out of the garages and were surprised by the great flood that swept everything away, that invaded everything.
The faces of the victims with palpable pain in their faces, with mourning in their hearts for their relatives and friends who died or disappeared; sometimes with anger for the delay in receiving help; others with the courage and hope to get back on the road again.
In the midst of so much desolation there are RAYS OF LIGHT: from the first hour friendly hands have been arriving, some of them known; the great majority -around three thousand- unknown. The immense solidarity of so many VOLUNTEERS -especially young people- who move every day to the affected populations carrying food, removing mud, removing the useless, cleaning houses. And they do it walking a long way because it is not possible to get there by car due to the restricted traffic.
Many institutions, both civil and religious, have made their facilities available to welcome the “homeless” and also those who have come to help “for as long as it takes”.
Present were the authorities headed by the King and Queen of Spain. Police, Army, Civil Guard, Firemen, Sanitary… have been incorporated, each time with more and more troops, as they have been assessing the damage.
Aid from many distant and nearby places such as the different Autonomous Communities of Spain, the European Union and those budgeted by the Government of the Nation. Many aids channeled through bank accounts of Caritas, Red Cross, NGOs,… From individuals who want to collect money to help family and friends, so they can rebuild their lives. Food aid, clothing, medicines and much more that are arriving at the places of collection, sorting and distribution.
This IMMENSE SOLIDARITY is the merciful face of God present in this IMMENSE TRAGEDY. The muddy hands of all those who help are the hands of God’s love through which his goodness is poured out to all his living and deceased children.
Review: Sister Mª Desamparados Alejos Morán, TC