After the brutal floods in several towns of the Community of Valencia, in eastern Spain, anger remains fierce against the local government presided over by Carlos Mazón

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By Guillermo Alvarado

After the brutal floods in several towns of the Community of Valencia, in eastern Spain, anger remains fierce against the local government presided over by Carlos Mazón, who is being asked to resign for his inability and sluggishness in dealing with the situation.

Tens of thousands of people marched over the weekend in mourning for the more than 220 dead and nearly 80 missing in the violent weather phenomenon that hit the area at the end of October.

The silence of the demonstrators was only occasionally broken by shouts of murderer, criminal and scoundrel directed at Mazón and also against the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, whom they accuse of not having mobilized aid to the affected areas in time.

It is known that eastern Spain was affected by an event known as an Isolated High Pressure Area, or DANA, which occurs when a mass of cold air separates from atmospheric currents and moves independently, causing torrential rain.

Although technology now exists to detect such events, the people of Valencia complain that they were not warned of the danger in time.

In addition, during and after the disaster, the government of Mazón, of the right-wing Popular Party, simply disappeared from the scene, delaying assistance to those affected and possibly increasing the death toll from the floods.

The attitude of the authorities was in stark contrast to that of the neighbors and volunteers who came to the aid of those trapped and then participated massively in the cleanup and debris removal.

In the main affected towns, such as Paiporta, Chiva, Benetússer and Massanassa, the reconstruction of roads and houses is continuing, as is the search for the missing.

The disaster in Valencia shows how climate change is causing potentially destructive phenomena on a daily basis, for which in many places no one is really prepared.

But it also shows how the inertia of the authorities and their lack of commitment to the safety of the population becomes another deadly weapon in these cases.

 We cannot stop nature, but it is possible to remain vigilant and to come immediately to the aid of the victims, because all that is needed is political will and awareness.