Everyone who made a mistake in connection with the flood disaster in Valencia must take responsibility, said Innovation Minister Diana Morant. The head of the ministry said that in the past few hours, new information has come to light about who made the decisions in what rhythm and responsibility before the tragedy that claimed the lives of more than two hundred people. Morant highlighted that there were communication problems and delays at the local and national level.
He said that during the Valencia disaster, local leaders, including regional president Carlos Mazón, for example, attended an event and joined the emergency meeting called for crisis management two hours late. In addition, many of the professional service providers and local managers were not aware of the existence of certain warning systems and their operation.
“I think that political responsibility should be assumed, everyone should make their own decisions. I know what I would do in such a situation. (…) Everyone should bear their own responsibility for the consequences of the decisions made and not made,” said the minister.
From his words, it became clear that the majority of the minister considers officials of the conservative People’s Party (PP) to be primarily responsible for the disaster. Especially after he added that Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez already announced three days after the disaster that he would send ten thousand soldiers, police and gendarmes to the scene, thus indicating the importance of cooperation between local and central government. Finally, he added that the central government has already decided on a 10.6 billion euro grant and will approve additional aid and other crisis management measures at its meeting next week to help mitigate the consequences of the natural disaster.
Reacting to the minister’s words, the head of the Military Emergency Unit (UME), Lt. Gen. Javier Marcos, noted that no one could have foreseen the magnitude of the coming storm. When they perceived the seriousness of the situation and had the necessary information at their disposal, they intervened as soon as possible, in his opinion.
Meanwhile, the rescue teams continued the search for the missing on Friday in Albufera and Pedralba, located twenty kilometers from the settlements most affected by the flood. More victims were found in both places, according to the information in the afternoon, the bodies of two people were found, so the disaster has already killed 221 people, but more than seventy people are still listed as missing, including children.
Health professionals dealing with the prevention of epidemics provided the information that two volunteers from Valencia were suspected of having leptospirosis. From the beginning, both of them took part in the cleaning and debris removal works in the Valencian settlements hit by the disaster. It is a bacterial disease that can be contracted through contact with water, soil, or mud contaminated with the urine or tissues of infected animals. In addition, mosquitoes are now causing a serious problem in the flooded areas, so more and more serious safety and precautionary measures are needed.
Cover photo: People dump mud removed from houses on the street in Massanassa, Valencia province, eastern Spain, on November 8, 2024, after deadly floods (Photo: AFP)
Source: magyarnemzet.hu
