Flash flooding in Spain: Valencia resident shocked, angry at devastation

• Jesus Lucero Esquerro, who lives in Valencia, was surprised when he saw the damage caused by the flood.
• He said people in the path of the water were not forewarned.
• Ezquerro said his city was caught off guard compared to how states in the U.S. prepare for extreme weather.

This essay is said to be based on a conversation with Jesus Lucero Escquerro, 28, who lives in the Poblats Maritimes neighborhood of Valencia, Spain.

The region was devastated flash floods. Ezquerro spoke to BI on Thursday. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

I have lived in Valencia for four years. On Monday, everything seemed normal – literally nothing happened.

But by 3 p.m. Tuesday, things started to turn sour for much of the province. It started to rain and it was very windy.

Around 7:30pm we started getting messages from local authorities warning us of heavy rains and telling us to stay indoors.

I said to myself, “God! But it doesn’t rain here.” I’m north of the Turia River in Valencia so I wasn’t affected and there was hardly any rain.

I was shocked and alarmed by the images of people I started seeing on social media south of the river. People stuck in treespeople are pulled from the torrent ropepeople cry.

I didn’t have a car or a vehicle when the storm hit, so there was nothing I could do but stay put. I wasn’t scared because I don’t have any business and I live on the fifth floor of my house.

But I was and still am worried about those who were hurt and the loss of innocent lives. When the notification came, the storm had already dissipated.

Back to the Middle Ages

The next day, a friend and I biked to see the damage in southern Valencia, the area hardest hit by the storm.

The capital’s transport system collapsed, subways were flooded and buses could not reach some areas.

Before we even got to the area, we saw trucks and cars piled up on the road south of the river like fallen dominoes.

The streets were covered with mud and water. People south of the river had no electricity or signal. It was like going back to the Middle Ages.

We also helped a group of young people clear the sidewalk. We were up to our eyebrows in mud.

The police were there, but there were almost no other emergency services in the area as they rescued people who were in danger.

Friends lost their cars. Some have garages full of water and dirt that they clean up. I don’t know anyone close to me who has died.

We returned home in a state of shock, taking in all this.

Left behind

I am disappointed and angry.

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I have experience in marine emergency and wildfire management and am currently working for a company on a fire lane management and wildfire prevention project.

So, I’m not a firefighter or military, but I’ve worked on environmental emergencies from an intelligence gathering perspective.

I know how to evacuate people, how to manage populations and how to manage adverse situations. But this did not happen in Valencia.

Worse than Hurricane Milton

I remember watching the news about Hurricane Milton hitting Florida last month and how the people of Florida were preparing for it.

Residents blocked the windows with large wooden panels; shop owners were preparing for it, and people were evacuating.

The mayor of Tampa even urged people to leave and said that anyone who stays will die.

After Hurricane Milton, there there were at least 16 deaths. Meanwhile, here in Valencia, it is already about 10 times more.

The Spanish Meteorological Agency issued a message notification days before storm. But nothing happened on Tuesday. In the morning there was absolute calm. People were going to work and university. By the time local reports came in, the storm had already passed.

Wake up call

Undoubtedly, human errors were made. I have never seen anything like it.

In a country like Spain, with the facilities, agencies and intelligence we have, it is appalling that this has happened.

At one point, the authorities were talking about 50 dead, then 60, then 70, then 90. That doesn’t sound like much to me. I believe that when the water recedes and the mud clears, more bodies will be found.