Spain's flood prevention failure: 200 dead in Valencia cold drop

Why can't a developed country like Spain prevent 200 flood deaths?

The question resonates after the cold drop that devastated the Valencian Community, leaving a provisional toll of more than 200 dead. A figure that, in any OECD country, should trigger all alarms. But what the data reveals is a chain of textbook failures: from the elimination of the regional emergency unit to the late convening of the Cecopi, when there were already victims.

The elimination of the Valencian Emergency Unit

One of the most criticized decisions is the suppression of the Valencian Emergency Unit (UVE) by President Carlos Mazón four months after taking office. The UVE was the body specialized in immediate disaster response. Its disappearance was denounced by the opposition, which considers it one of the causes of the slow reaction. The UME, the state body created under Zapatero's government and labeled by the PP as a "whim", had to bear the full weight, but its activation also came late.

Late response: Cecopi at 5 p.m.

According to the testimony of a meteorologist collected by Levante-EMV, the Operational Coordination Center (Cecopi) was convened at 5:00 p.m., when the first fatalities had already occurred. "It was evident that there would be victims. The images from Utiel already tell us in the morning what is going to happen," she stated. The Automatic Hydrological Information System (SAIH) of the Júcar Hydrographic Confederation already showed critical data since the morning. The question is obvious: why wasn't it activated earlier?

The 1957 lesson: when Franco thought long-term

To find an uncomfortable comparison, some debate participants bring up the 1957 flood in Valencia. Then, the Franco regime launched the Plan Sur, which diverted the course of the Turia. The work was partly financed with a 10-centimo peseta stamp with the coat of arms of Valencia, which citizens paid for ten years. The total cost, in today's euros, would be ridiculous compared to the benefits: without that diversion, the victims of the recent cold drop could have been tens of thousands, according to the debate. The paradox is that a dictatorship — accused of not investing in anything but propaganda — made a hydraulic plan that half a century later continues to save lives, while democratic governments have allowed construction in flood-prone areas and have neglected the maintenance of channels and dikes.

Developed or underdeveloped country?

The debate over whether Spain is a developed country or not runs through the discussion. Those who defend that it is point out that the U.S., with tornadoes and hurricanes, has more annual deaths from natural disasters. But the comparison limps: tornadoes are phenomena difficult to predict, while cold drops in the Mediterranean are a climatic pattern known for centuries. The question is not whether Spain has resources, but whether it uses them correctly. The harsh reality is that emergency management remains a political battleground, with poorly coordinated regional powers and investment in hydraulic infrastructure that, according to the latest data in the thread, has not advanced in the four months after the disaster: "almost 4 months and no hydraulic work has been put out to tender like the people," laments a comment.

The result is a society that boasts of being the fourth economy in the eurozone, but that still has vulnerabilities typical of a developing country. And the worst: the next cold drop will come, and the only thing that has changed is the death toll.