The “apocalyptic” situation in Paiporta, the epicenter of the tragedy in Valencia where there are still people trapped in their homes

If there is a “ground zero” for the devastation caused by the rains in eastern Spain, it is Paiporta.

with at least 62 dead According to the latest official figure, the tragedy has especially affected this town of 29,000 inhabitants located about 5 kilometers south of the city of Valencia.

They are more than a quarter of the 205 deaths confirmed by the authorities due to the DANA (isolated depression at high levels) in the province of Valencia – the most affected – and those of Albacete, Cuenca and surrounding areas.

These regions suffered torrential rains that overflowed river beds, flooded streets and fields, swept away vehicles, destroyed bridges, and left the highest death toll from a natural disaster in the country’s recent history.

The authorities They have not wanted to offer an approximate number of missing people not having enough data, but local media report that there are hundreds.

In Paiporta, the epicenter of the tragedy, the testimonies of the neighbors reflect the tragedy of a town busy mourning the deceased, searching for those who were lost, preventing looting and trying to save belongings in flooded homes and businesses.

“We need cranes and rescue people to remove all the mud that is still in the streets. There is people who have been trapped for three days because they have not come to move the mud, the motorcycles and the cars, and they are trapped in their houses,” Melissa Flores explained to BBC Mundo from Paiporta.

Flores, a Colombian who has lived in Spain for five years, said that “the panorama is “desolate.”

“There is no electricity, there is no water“Communication is poor, and we don’t see when the situation can be resolved soon,” he lamented.

She explained that her personal situation is “delicate”, since she has a one-year-old daughter and the chaos in which Paiporta is immersed makes it difficult for her to travel to access services and basic products.

“Only volunteers have come here. The authorities have not appeared and there is still much to do,” he added.

Within the tragedy, the positive news in the last hours in Paiporta has been the arrival of volunteers who have organized themselves on social networks from Thursday to help in the most affected areas.

These volunteers, most of them young people from nearby towns such as Picaña or Torrente, come on foot to distribute bottles of water and food, and lend a hand in the cleaning and clearing of communication routes.

The mayor of Paiporta, Maribel Albalat, assured in an interview with the Spanish radio station SER that part of the aid “is not arriving because there are many impassable streets.”

Albalat described as “apocalyptic” the situation that exists in the town, where “all the ground floors have been flooded” and “all businesses,” and suggested that the death toll is likely higher than the 62 in the last official count.

“They are still lifting the bodies and I can’t say what the number will be,” he said.

Among the dead are six elderly people from a nursing home who drowned when the ground floor of the building flooded before they could escape.

The mayor also confirmed that there are people missing or trapped on ground floors, basements and garages.

“Many lived on ground floors that flooded like never before.” they didn’t come out and stayed there; Others were in businesses that were blocked by cars jammed against the doors, and others went to get the cars out of the garages and could no longer get out,” he told the EFE agency.

He also reported that there have been looting and robbery in some establishments.

Part of the municipality remains without electricity almost three days after the storm, and the water supply is being restored little by little, according to the mayor.

The city council enabled the first floor of the health center to deal with extreme medical emergencies and organized a drinking water delivery service.

The geographical location of Paiporta was key for it to become the epicenter of the catastrophe.

The town received all the water that fell through the Poyo ravine on Tuesday afternoon, between 490 l/m2 and more than 630 l/m2according to various measurements.

The Poyo ravine is a seasonal watercourse that extends between the basins of the Turia and Júcar rivers and collects water from several municipalities until it flows into the Albufera of Valencia.

Although it remains dry for much of the year, in episodes of intense rain it can experience sudden floods that rapidly increase their flow and cause flooding in surrounding areas.

This is what has happened in Paiporta, Picanya, Sedaví, Alfafar, Massanassa and Catarroja, the most affected towns.

According to testimonies collected by the EFE agency, in Paiporta the water passed from having two fingers to covering more than five feet in an interval of just five minutes Tuesday afternoon, and in the following hours the water swept away everything in its path, from bridges to vehicles and street furniture.

A survivor offered his chilling testimony to Spanish Television (TVE): “From what you see on television, this is triple. You don’t know what we’ve been through here, I’ve been six hours up a tree (…) watching the dead float past me,” he said.

“Please send us help, we cannot continue like this, this is terrible, no one really knows what we are going through,” she exclaimed through tears.

Another resident of Paiporta expressed herself in similar terms on the public television network: “We need help, where is the Army? Please, please, we need machinery so they can start removing the garbage and start seeing the light.”

Many neighbors continue with their flooded homes and garagesas is the case of Sergio and Miriam, who confessed to the local newspaper Las Provincias their fear that the already weakened façade will collapse if they cannot remove the water.

“We are all looking for water pumps and there are nowhere to be found. We need you to tell us where we can get them,” they expressed.

In her statements to Spanish media, the mayor of Paiporta stated that it will take a long time for the town to recover normality, but she wanted to be optimistic.

“We are going to leave, but I don’t know when or how,” he declared.

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