VIDEO: Two Civil Guard boats for all of Valencia: the lack of resources and foresight multiplied the DANA catastrophe

Security forces say there was no provision for bringing in possible reinforcements during the first hours of rescues and “everything was chaos”

By Jose Sanchez

“There was no foresight, everything was chaos”. It is the most repeated complaint among firefighters, National Police, Civil Guard and local police who are still participating in the rescue efforts after the DANA that has devastated part of the province of Valencia. Despite the unpredictability of what is already the third deadliest natural disaster In Spain, the security and emergency forces suffered from other shortcomings that multiplied the tragedy.

The State Meteorological Agency (Aemet) had activated the red alert level for the day and some experts had warned of the "potential" that the DANA as they passed through the province. However, the police forces had not anticipated no possible reinforcement of personnel to the usual service on a Tuesday afternoon and evening. Nor of material resources.

For example, the Special Group for Underwater Activities (GEAS) of the Servicio Marítimo Guardia Civil I only had the "two gums (boats)” of those available in the province of Valencia, says Eduardo Cano, spokesman for the Unified Association of Civil Guards (AUGC) in Valencia. These boats, which are also available to firefighters, are essential for the rescue of people in aquatic environments or where there is a large accumulation of water and access by land is not possible.

The usual service in the barracks of the Civil Guard in the province "was not reinforced" after the outbreak of the first floods that left thousands of people trapped and missing. The agents on duty in barracks such as those in Paiporta, where Two officers drowned and the partner of a third party, or Utiel, were trapped “in a matter of minutes.” “The Utiel barracks no longer exist, it was swept away by the flood”, explains the AUGC spokesperson, who also reiterates the “lack of personnel” despite the fact that the Government celebrates the historical high number of agents: “I have not seen fewer guards in 34 years of profession”.

It was not until Wednesday morning that the security forces were able to organise the incorporation of volunteers into the work and were able to give rest to others who had been working since early Tuesday afternoon.

Delays in deployments

Other officers, in this case from the National Police, were not initially deployed either, despite their willingness to do so. These are the agents who make up the Police Intervention Unit (UIP), better known as riot police, based in Valencia. According to the Jupol union, the troops were called up on Wednesday night, but were not deployed until early Thursday morning. The General Police Directorate denies this and assures that the UIP in Valencia was “working” from the first hours of the DANA.

The advance of the storm was too much for the emergency personnel available during the first hours, so the Valencian generalitat raised the emergency level and requested the central government's support from the Military Emergency Unit (UME). This activation occurred at 20: 36 hours, just 15 minutes after the Generalitat issued a massive Civil Protection alert to the people of Valencia. By then, the floods had already trapped hundreds of people and had even knocked down a bridge in the town of Paiporta, where much of the personal and material damage is concentrated.

Source: INFOBAE