2024-11-16
23 分钟More than two weeks after the floods that swept through the Valencia region of Spain, the streets are still being cleared of mud and debris. More than 220 people are known to have died but many more have lost their homes and businesses. In our conversations, a family shares their experience of searching for their father and we hear how a mother is struggling to come to terms with the events she witnessed. Meanwhile, recriminations are flying over who is to blame. Officials are facing criticism for failing to issue a weather warning to people’s phones in time, and for the slow mobilisation in the aftermath of the disaster. Three volunteers who have been helping with the rescue effort share their frustrations with the government response.
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Hello, I'm Mark Lohan.
Welcome to the documentary from the BBC World Service.
In BBC OS conversations, we bring people together to share their experiences.
This.
This time it's conversations on the aftermath of the Valencia floods.
More than two weeks on and streets are still being cleared of mud and debris after the disaster that killed more than 220 people.
In our conversations, one family describes the search for their father.
And we meet three rescue volunteers angry that the authorities have not been doing enough.
We feel abandoned, we feel insecure.
We feel our heads can just not understand this, because if civilians are able to do it with their two pair of hands and with a broom, how come there is no organization at those levels?
The forecast on 29 October warned of rain along the Valencia region of Spain's Mediterranean coast.
But for many people, an official warning of severe weather came far too late.
By the time government leaders had issued an alert directly to people's phones, the flash floods were already causing enormous damage in one of the worst affected towns, towns by Porta, where at least 60 people died.
Waves of water swept cars and people along the streets, flooding buildings in minutes.
In the aftermath of the disaster, I was sent to cover the story for the BBC.
I've never seen that level of devastation from weather.
It was like a bomb had been dropped from the air, destroying everything in its wake.