The authorities of Valencia create a center to manage the crowds of volunteers who went to the areas most affected by the floods in Spain. All to avoid interruptions in emergency equipment.
The Valencian authorities created a center to manage the crowds of volunteers who this Friday traveled to the areas most affected by the floods in Spain and who ended up blocking access and disrupting the work of the emergency teams.
The solidarity of the population with those most affected by the storm on Tuesday night, which caused more than 200 deaths, according to the latest official figures, reached such a dimension today during the morning, a holiday, that the authorities even appealed to the volunteers. return home or, at least, not travel by car, since they prevented access to emergency resources and assistance from the police, the Armed Forces and health services.
“The need for them to return to their homes is imperative,” said the president of the Generalitat Valenciana, Carlos Mazón, in statements to the media at the end of the morning.
Mazón warned that columns of thousands of people were taking to the streets, on foot or in cars, “with the best wishes,” but the access that professionals needed to work and bring help to the most affected populations was “collapsing.”
Volunteers brought shovels and brooms to help clean up the mud, as well as water and food to places that had been isolated or difficult to access in recent days, where there was no water supply and where businesses were completely destroyed or looted.
The regional government announced at the end of the morning that it was studying taking measures to restrict access to various places, especially during the weekend, then it made an X call to volunteers not to travel by car and ended up moving forward at the end of the morning. day with the creation of a coordination center in the city of Valencia.
The executive asked the volunteers to travel starting at 7:00 a.m. on Saturday to the City of Arts and Sciences of Valencia, where the volunteer center will operate and from where the groups will be organized and guided to the necessary tasks and locations. .
In addition, the regional authorities created the digital platform somsolidaritat.gva.es to also channel the availability of volunteering.
The objective is to “organize, transport and better segment the help of those who contribute their solidarity effort,” said Carlos Mazón, in a new statement to journalists and in a message on social networks.
The regional government thus wants to channel all the aid it considers necessary, without “massively obstructing public roads.”
In his morning statement, Carlos Mazón highlighted that, three days after the storm, the key was still to open access channels to the affected areas to remove the thousands of damaged cars that remain on roads and highways and rescue the victims, taking advantage to, At the same time, bring water and basic food to the populations, which are intended to be distributed from organized centers installed in tents, pavilions or schools.
As reported by the regional government, an extraordinary caravan of heavy machinery, with more than 150 vehicles, will arrive in the Valencian Community on Saturday to speed up the cleaning and removal of thousands of piled up and damaged cars.
These machines need permanently free access to access the places where they are necessary and demanded by the population, the executive highlighted.
“We must continue helping the Army and allow it to continue happening. It is necessary to continue helping the 112 professionals, leaving the roads clear,” appealed Carlos Mazón.
The Spanish Government today added 800 soldiers to the 1,200 who have been in the areas devastated by bad weather in the Valencian Community since Tuesday for cleaning, rescue and supply tasks.
The Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, assured that in the coming days all the necessary military personnel will be incorporated and said that they have “many missions” on the ground, from trying to find people still alive to rescuing bodies, clearing roads or supplying populations that are without drinking water, food or medicine.
The Spanish authorities acknowledged Thursday night, for the first time, that there are still “dozens and dozens” of people missing in areas affected by bad weather.
The Minister of Defense confirmed today that “unfortunately we are realizing that there are many” cases of people submerged in flooded garages and that there is a possibility that there are bodies inside the thousands of cars washed away by the waters and that remain. piled up in the streets. and roads.
“It is a tragedy of absolutely incredible proportions,” said the minister.
Source: Observadora
