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The alert for the DANA (the Spanish acronym for high-altitude isolated depression, a weather phenomenon that recently caused serious flooding in Valencia and other eastern regions of Spain) to the mobile phones of the citizens of Valencia was sent at 20:11 on 29 October.
In a post on Twitter (now X), the German MEP of the European People's Party Markus Ferber has questioned why Teresa Ribera, Minister of Ecological Transition and candidate for Vice-President of the European Commission, sent this alert so late and why the Ministry of Ecological Transition did nothing to face the DANA phenomenon in Valencia and eastern regions of Spain. In the alert scenario active that afternoon, level 2, the sending of the alert was the responsibility of Civil Protection (under the orders of the Emergency Coordination Centre of Valencia, a regional body), not the Ministry. If it had been raised to level 3 that day, the central government could have intervened.
What the disinformation narrative says: It points the finger at Ribera for sending out the alert at 20:11 hours and not having done anything about the DANA phenomenon from the Ministry of Ecological Transition.
What we know about the alert: the ES-Alert alert system, which was used to warn the population at 20:11 on the evening of 29 October, is managed by the central government, but the competences are at regional level, so whether or not to send the alert depended on the Generalitat Valenciana in the scenario active at that time.
Who was in command: the Generalitat Valenciana was in command of this emergency, as the province of Valencia was at emergency level 2. If it had been raised to level 3 that day, the central government could have intervened. The Spanish Government could have declared a national emergency and assumed responsibility and command of all the emergency response at any time, and the Valencian Community itself could also have requested it, but neither of these extremes occurred on 29 October, nor did they occur on 13 November.
Chronology of the warnings: The first warnings were issued by the State Meteorological Agency (AEMET), a body under the Ministry of Ecological Transition (MITECO). The first was on 23 October, mentioning the ‘formation of a DANA’ phenomenon and six days before the floods occurred. On 25 October it already warned of ‘heavy or very heavy showers and storms’ for Tuesday 29 October, the day on which the natural disaster occurred.
On that day, the AEMET issued the first red warning at 7:36 am. But the Emergency Coordination Centre of the Generalitat Valenciana did not activate the ES-Alert system until 20:11, when the first warning was issued. The president of the Generalitat, Carlos Mazón, said at 13:00 on 29 October that the DANA phenomenon was expected to decrease ‘in intensity throughout the rest of the Valencia region’ at around 18:00. You can consult a chronology of all the warnings here.
The River Jucar Hydrographic Confederation (CHJ), a body attached to the Ministry of Ecological Transition, publicly warned at 8:53 and 11:53 on the morning of 29 October on its social networks, although none of these network warnings referred directly to the Rambla del Poyo, where most of the damage was concentrated. The Emergency Coordination Centre (CCE) of the Generalitat Valenciana issued a hydrological alert to the town councils of several municipalities, recommending that the population should stay away from ravines and rivers. This type of alert is the responsibility of the emergency and civil protection services of the autonomous communities.
Cross accusations between Ribera and Mazón: On 8 November, Carlos Mazón, president of the Generalitat Valenciana, claimed that Teresa Ribera wrote to him on Tuesday 29 October at 20:20 pm via SMS. Teresa Ribera says that she tried to contact him four times that day, and he didn’t answered her call.
Emergency situations are a favourable situation for the appearance of hoaxes. Thus, at Maldita.es we continue to debunk hoaxes and disinformation related to the DANA and various conspiracy theories since last Tuesday 29 October. It is essential: trust only official sources and, when in doubt, it is preferable not to share them. Here you can consult tools and sources for information on the DANA that is sweeping across Spain.
