MADRID – One year after the catastrophic floods that killed 229 people and devastated Spain’s eastern region of Valencia, experts and civil society groups warn the region remains ill-prepared for another disaster.
A state funeral for the victims of the so-called DANA floods will take place in Valencia on Wednesday, following a weekend demonstration where more than 50,000 people marched through the city demanding political accountability for what they called a botched crisis response.
Associations representing victims of the DANA floods opposed the attendance of Valencia regional president Carlos Mazón at the funeral, who reportedly decided to attend last-minute.
Last October’s floods exposed severe gaps in Spain’s early-warning systems and coordination between local and regional authorities, triggering a bitter political row between the ruling Socialist Party (PSOE) and the centre-right Popular Party-led administration in Valencia.
Although the government has since launched a €16 billion reconstruction plan – funding infrastructure repairs and direct aid to households and businesses – experts say prevention remains Valencia’s weakest point.
Spain has excellent guidelines and protocols, but they exist mostly on paper, said Carmen Grau, a disaster management professor at Japan’s Waseda University and advisor to Spain’s post-DANA reconstruction committee.
“Theory needs to be put into practice”, she warned, adding that local councils need trained crisis managers, regular drills, and clear action plans for schools and social centres.
Grau also urged better early-warning mechanisms to protect vulnerable communities, as well as long-term resilience policies for a country regularly hit by wildfires, heatwaves, and other extreme weather events – including the 2021 volcanic eruption in La Palma.
For José Trigueros, president of the Spanish Engineering Institute, the country needs “many more hydraulic works” to mitigate future flooding. He argued that planned state projects such as new dams and flood control measures must be “urgently expedited”.
Valencia’s regional government insists it has “acted efficiently and quickly,” allocating €2.5 billion to rebuild key infrastructure and launching a local prevention campaign with updated procedures and training in emergency response.
But victims’ groups remain unconvinced. “We are still rebuilding what was lost last year, but we also need to adapt to what may come,” said Mariló Gradolí, spokesperson for one of the main DANA victims’ associations.
Gradolí said local authorities must invest in preventive infrastructure and review emergency systems to ensure timely alerts. “Warnings cannot be late or inaccurate,” she stressed.
“That already cost the lives of 229 people,”she concluded.
(cs)
