Floods in Spain: How Valencia residents were trapped without warning as the water raged

Valencia, Spain
CNN
—

Adan Ortell Mor had an appointment to cut a customer's hair at his salon in La Torre, Valencia, on Tuesday evening at 7:30 p.m. But when the customer called to cancel the event because traffic was bad, it potentially saved Mor's life. Instead, he went home and saw reports of cars floating in floodwaters in a town upriver.

“I said to myself, 'The water flows here,'” he told CNN as he shoveled mud out of his home. “I don't think it will take long. I rushed to the balcony, looked around and there came the water. It was already at my door.”

No warning. No warnings. This came on his phone about an hour later. A loud alert was sent to all residents of Valencia informing them of heavy rains and urging them to stay at home. Far too late for the many people already trapped in the rising waters.

This is the worst natural disaster Valencia has experienced in decades. According to the Spanish Meteorological Agency, a year's worth of rain fell in less than eight hours. The water flowed over rivers and tributaries towards the Mediterranean, hitting cars and destroying bridges along the way. More than 200 people have been killed and authorities warn the death toll is likely to rise.

But it is not unprecedented. Valencia suffered a similar deadly flood in October 1957, caused by the same seasonal weather phenomenon known as Gota Fria or Cold Drop. In that disaster, dozens of people died when the Turia overflowed its banks in crowded neighborhoods in the city of Valencia. It was so deadly that years later the city spent millions to reroute the river.

So how did Valencia end up surprised again?

Spain's AEMET weather center in Valencia warned of heavy rain at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday, raising the alert level to red in some areas and warning residents to stay off the streets in case of flooding.

At 10:30 a.m., firefighters in inner cities like Llombai rescued people from the floods. AEMET warned residents to be vigilant even if there was little rainfall in their areas, as ravines and ravines quickly filled with water rushing from the mountains towards the sea.

At midday, Valencia regional president Carlos Mazon appeared to downplay the crisis by saying the storm was easing, contradicting warnings from emergency services. The statement was published by his office on X but has since been deleted.

At around 5pm, Valencia emergency services were inundated with hundreds of calls for help across the region.

It was around 8 p.m. when cell phones finally rang and residents were told to stay indoors. Far too little, far too late, even for those downstream of the raging waters who might otherwise have had time to prepare.

Politicians point the finger at each other for not acting quickly enough. In the end, however, it is residents like 70-year-old Valentín Manzaneque Fernández who suffer the consequences. He is angry.

“The politicians are all villains. Are they cleaning up the mud out here? They're lining their pockets to give this to us?” he told CNN as he joined the line of residents heading into the city for help. “The storm came in the morning. But the water didn't reach us until 8 p.m. But no one warned us, nothing. Nobody cared.”

He slept outside on a neighbor's roof terrace for two nights before deciding to fight for hours through mud and rubble from his home in the suburb of Sedavi to get food and water in the city of Valencia.

The water has receded, but recovery from the destruction will take weeks and months. Valencia's highways remain blocked or only partially usable, and many are blocked by stranded vehicles. According to the Spanish railway authority Adif, the train tracks are so badly damaged that operations will probably only be able to resume in a few weeks.

Mor is not waiting for government help. When CNN spoke to him, he was covered in mud and using his own broom and shovel to clear away the debris that had piled up in his family home. Neighbors also pitched in, with volunteers arriving with waterproof boots, buckets and a shopping cart full of food and water.

He says his salon business is completely ruined. But he considers himself lucky. His parents survived the 1957 flood and he managed to get them to safety during that disaster.

“It's just material things that have been ruined. The main thing is that my family is safe. We will manage, my family is fine,” he said. “Now all we can do is get to work and clean up.”