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Six months on: Valencia still counting the cost of floods and leadership failures

IT HAS been six months since floods ripped through Valencia, killing 228 people and leaving entire communities drowning in grief.

But while nature may have sparked the disaster, many believe the true devastation was man-made.

Now, some of those responsible are finally being held to account.

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On October 29, Valencia faced one of Europe’s most catastrophic weather events in recent memory. 

A gota fria storm system – long forecast by meteorologists – unleashed a year’s worth of rain in just hours.

Ravines became raging rivers. Cars floated through the streets of towns, where dozens died returning from work. 

Families were swept away. Lives were lost in garages, homes, and on the roads.

And yet – as catastrophe closed in – the warning never came.

The region’s emergency alert system remained silent until 8.11pm.  

By then, it was too late. Aemet had issued a red alert before sunrise.

Emergency calls flooded the system all day. But the regional government – led by Carlos Mazon – waited until nightfall to act.

“The damage couldn’t have been avoided,” said Judge Nuria Ruiz Tobarra in a recent ruling.

“But the deaths could have.”

Tobarra, who is leading the criminal investigation into officials’ failure of duty, highlights an uncomfortable truth: The real tragedy lay not in the natural disaster, but........

© Olive Press