The residents of La Torre, a district south of Valenciathey have passed the most “horrifying” night of their lives. And the damage that has hit the Valencian Community and cost at least one life 62 people so far – balance that can rise because there are still dozens of missing people – is the worst cold drop of the present 21st century. The flood of 1957 or the ‘swamp’ of Tous in 1982 are the sad precedents, both also recorded in the month of October.
Josefina Gil, 71 years old, has been living in this working-class neighborhood all her life. What he saw tonight he had never seen before: “It was horrifying, the water entered the portal of the building and burst the door of the lighting room. I have never seen this in my life. There was an EMT bus trapped in the street and the passengers had to take refuge on the roof because there was only half a meter left for the water to cover the entire bus. Firefighters passed by in zodiacs asking neighbors to throw blankets over their balconies. “The water has burst the windows of the homes on the ground floors and the blinds and windows of the shops.”
Very close to La Torre, in the town of Alfafar There is the CEIP Orba, which has suffered serious damage and its secretary, María José Sanchis, estimates that classes will not be able to be taught again “in a month.” “This is a disaster. I’ve been crying all morning. The streets are scary. The description that I think best fits is to say that it is like the series ‘The Walking Dead’. There are damaged walls in the center and I am afraid we are talking about structural damage. There are cars inside the classrooms. The Children’s building is all flooded. In the 1st and 2nd grade of Primary, the wall on the ground floor has fallen and there are cars inside,” she tells devastated 20 minutes.
The other two people who make up the CEIP Orba management team (video above and image below), the director and the head of studies are incommunicado “no battery in the cell phone and no light,” he adds. “If you don’t have the resources to start from scratch, you will be left in ruins,” laments this teacher.
Andrea looks for her mother
In addition to the 62 deceased people – provisional balance – there are dozens of missing people whose relatives have been living in a state of ‘shock’ since Tuesday. It is the case of Andrea Ferrari, a 19-year-old girl from Valencia who knows nothing about her motherEva Canut Montoro, 54 years old, “from this Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.” As explained to 20 minutesleft working for the Raminatrans company where she has a secretarial position, in the La Reva industrial estate in the town of Ribarroja. “She went out with a friend by car towards Valencia but the water started to rise and they got out of the car. A wave separated them. My mother took refuge on top of a truck, where there were more people and she told me that there were many people helping. A The friend has already been found but I haven’t heard from my mother since yesterday (this Tuesday) at 7:30 p.m.,” she describes in a voice of deep sadness.
Andrea claims that she has called “more than a hundred times” the telephone number set up by the Generalitat for the relatives of the missing, but that she has not been able to get the phone picked up. “No one has caught it from me. We don’t know anything about my mother. In the hospitals they tell me that there is no one who matches her description and In two schools in Ribarroja where there are people sheltered, they have said his name over the public address system but no one responds“.
Without getting home
Another of the municipalities most affected by the overflow of the Poyo ravinecausing the greatest damage, is Paiporta. There lives Sonia García, a 52-year-old merchant who was unable to return home tonight and had to sleep at a relative’s house in the city of Valencia. His sister already warned him this Tuesday afternoon not to return to Paiporta because “the ravine was carrying a lot of water.” “In a matter of 20 minutes, it overflowed.”he adds. Next came the images of the current carrying away one of the town’s bridges.
Sonia’s son, 26 years old and resident in Madrid, has a friend who has not been located since this Tuesday in the afternoon. His mother and sister, also residents of Paiporta, “They are without electricity and, therefore, they cannot charge their cell phones, which are already out of battery, and they also do not have water”. From her own home, her mother has taken the following images:
The lack of water In the most affected towns it has led many people to stock up on bottled water in supermarkets. This is confirmed by another woman affected by the neighbor of the town of Villamarxantwhere they are also suffering from lack of water. This town, near Chiva – where almost 500 liters per square meter have been recorded, one of the highest records in the last twenty years – is currently isolated because the four bridges that connect it with neighboring towns are in risk of collapse.
Marta Martínez, 40 years oldlives with his partner and three children in a single-family home in Villamarxant. The ground floor of their house has been flooded, but luckily they have no personal injuries to report. “We are without electricity and water because the town’s central pipes have been affected and bottled water is running out in the supermarket“he explains on the phone with 20 minutes. Marta has an ice cream parlor that has not been able to open today due to lack of supplies and where she is at the time she answers this newspaper to evaluate the damage caused to the genre.
The most serious damage has been suffered in a stable where he has a mare and other smaller domestic animals. There, “the water has devastated everything. Thanks to the fact that a vehicle dragged by the force of the water that broke the fence of the block, the mare we have could have been dragged by the water “But it got to safety in a higher area because otherwise it would have drowned,” he says. They have already managed to recover the animal, since “it has been all night without moving.”
“I wish everything were like it was yesterday at ten in the morning,” wishes RBR, a 40-year-old resident of Albal who tonight had to sleep in a hotel in Almussafes because when last night she finished work at 10 p.m. she didn’t even consider the option. to take the car to return to his house, which now has a flooded garage, no water and no electricity. “At first I was angry because at work they didn’t let us leave early so we could go home, but now I feel grateful because who knows what could have happened if I managed to take the car. In the hotel at least I have water, electricity and I have been able to eat, even though I am wearing the same clothes as yesterday. The most important thing is that we (she and her partner, who work together in a factory) are fine,” she tells this newspaper by phone.