Floods in Spain: Residents of Valencia shocked and angry at the devastation

• Jesús Lucero Ezquerro, who lives in Valencia, was in disbelief when he saw the flood damage.
• He said people in the water’s path had little advance warning.
• Ezquerro said his city was caught off guard compared to how U.S. states prepare for extreme weather.

This as told essay is based on a conversation with Jesús Lucero Ezquerro, 28, who lives in the Poblats Marítims neighborhood of Valencia, Spain.

The region has been ravaged by flash floods. Ezquerro spoke with BI on Thursday. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

I have been living in Valencia for four years. Everything seemed normal on Monday – literally nothing happened.

But things started to get ugly across most of the province at 3pm on Tuesday. It started to rain and the wind was blowing very hard.

Around 7:30 PM we received text messages from local authorities warning us of heavy rain and urging us to stay home.

I said to myself, “Holy cow! But it doesn’t rain here.” I’m north of the Turia River in Valencia so it hasn’t bothered me and it’s hardly rained.

I was shocked and alarmed by the images I started seeing on social media of people south of the river. People stuck treespeople being pulled out of a torrent with ropepeople shout.

I didn’t have a car or vehicle when the storm hit, so there was nothing I could do but stay where I was. I wasn’t scared because I don’t have anything to worry about and I live on the fifth floor of my building.

But I was and still am concerned for those affected and the innocent lives lost. By the time the warnings came, the storm had already started.

Back to the Middle Ages

The next day, a friend and I cycled to see the damage in southern Valencia, the area hardest hit by the storm.

The metropolitan transportation system had collapsed, subways were flooded, and buses could not reach some areas.

Before we even reached the area, we saw trucks and cars on the road south of the river, like fallen dominoes.

The streets were full of dirt, covered with mud and water. People south of the river had no power or signal. It was like going back to the Middle Ages.

We also helped a group of young people clear a sidewalk. We were up to our eyebrows in mud.

The police were present, but there were hardly any other emergency services in the area as they rescued people who were in danger.

Friends have lost their car. Some have garages full of water and mud that they clean. I don’t know anyone close to me who has died.

We returned home in shock and took it all in.

Left behind

I am frustrated and angry.

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I have a background in marine emergencies and forest fire management, and I am now working for a company on a firebreak management and forest fire prevention project.

So I’m not a firefighter or a military person, but I have worked on environmental crises from an intelligence gathering perspective.

I know how to evacuate people, how to manage populations and how to deal with adverse situations. But that didn’t happen in Valencia.

Worse than Hurricane Milton

I remember watching the news last month about Hurricane Milton hitting Florida and how Floridians were preparing for it.

Residents closed their windows with large wooden panels; store owners prepared for it and people were evacuated.

The mayor of Tampa even called on people to leave, saying anyone who stayed would die.

After Hurricane Milton there were at least 16 dead. Meanwhile, here in Valencia that number is already about ten times as many.

The Spanish Meteorological Agency had issued a notice warning days before the storm. But nothing happened on Tuesday. There was absolute peace in the morning. People went to work and study. When the local warnings came, the storm was already underway.

A wake-up call

No doubt human errors were made. I’ve never seen anything like it.

In a country like Spain, with the resources, agencies and intelligence that we have, it is terrible that this has happened.

At one point authorities said 50 dead, then 60, then 70, then 90. That doesn’t seem like much to me. I believe that as the water recedes and the mud clears, more dead bodies will be found.