I tried to warn Valencia’s government about flooding, but it didn’t listen

The rightwing regional authorities ignored the climate-crisis science and dismissed the weather forecast – the consequences are their responsibility

It’s almost impossible to describe what we have experienced in the flooded villages and towns around the city of Valencia. Many of those villages and towns are in ruins, with at least 217 dead and others to be pulled out of the mud. There are many areas that still need urgent help. There are towns without water or electricity that have not been able to clean up. There are still flooded garages, buildings on the verge of collapse, and health problems that may result from the accumulated water.

But what also defies belief is the regional Valencian government’s sheer negligence in its pre- and post-disaster management. Let me try to summarise some of the most serious shortcomings.

The regional government received every possible warning about the floods from a huge range of sources. The scientific community has been warning for decades that the entire Mediterranean is becoming a breeding ground for increasingly powerful storms, which are covering an ever-widening spread of territory. The State Meteorological Agency (AEMET) warned five days before the floods that there would be a potentially unprecedented rainstorm, and 12 hours before the public warnings from our local government, it specified that the situation was at the highest level of risk. By the time that the “official” warnings reached people’s phones by text that evening, many homes were already under water. The University of Valencia, at least, heeded warnings from the scientists and told its students to stay at home that day, almost certainly saving many lives.

The regional government of Valencia also received the warnings directly from me and other people far removed from its self-defeating management model, which was based on denying scientific evidence and a “business as usual” mentality. The truth is that nothing is usual any more, nor will it ever be for the people of these devastated communities.

In September 2023, members of Compromís, a leftwing alliance in the Valencian regional parliament, presented a proposal tackling “the increasing risks of flooding in the Mediterranean”. The government voted against it.

Just last month, we raised the issue three further times, even presenting an urgent proposal that was to be debated in November. All we were asking for was the scientific studies on these growing risks to be taken seriously, and more and better coordination of forces to deal with the risks. We didn’t ask for much because we knew that in Valencia’s rightwing government, led by the People’s party, there were people with a terrible record on believing in the climate crisis and taking it seriously.

Our requests were made with the knowledge that the ocean temperatures of the entire planet are rising to dangerous levels and are a cause of increasingly extreme weather phenomena. And because we have already exceeded 1.5 degrees above preindustrial temperatures, the safety limit set by the scientific community. We are now racing against the clock to tackle a planetary emergency that may cause ocean currents to collapse (including the most crucial for northern Europe, the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation, or Amoc).

We also tried to get the increased risk of floods on the political agenda locally because too many people in power were ignoring the warnings. Carlos Mazón, the president of our Valencia region, assured the public at lunchtime on the fateful day of 29 October that there was nothing to worry about, that by the afternoon the storm would have dissipated. He has since deleted a post containing a video of this press conference from his social media.

Since the floods, members of the rightwing People’s party have disgustingly suggested that some blame lies with Spain’s meteorological agency. But it’s too late for the politicians to hide, as it is for the thousands of people who have lost everything. The regional government is going to be hit by lawsuits from individuals, businesses and civil society organisations.

There is a debate in Spain about who or what is to blame: bad political management or the climate crisis. But this question misses the point. In reality, the two are interconnected.

When political authorities ignore the scientific community, ignore the warnings of the emergency agencies and reject proposals presented to them by opposition MPs to avert a forthcoming disaster, the tragic consequences are clearly their responsibility. On the other hand, global heating is accelerating and its consequences are escalating. We can’t deny the reality.

I hope that across Spain and Europe we are all becoming increasingly aware of the risks facing countries that are threatened by serious droughts and increasingly extreme floods, desertification and forest fires. However, I am still not convinced that we are able to connect the dots.

Cover photo: ‘It’s too late for the politicians to hide, as it is for the thousands of people who have lost everything.’ Photograph: Chema Moya/EPA