What went wrong with Spain's flood response?

euronews (in English)

Two weeks after the devastating floods in Spain, scientists have visited the affected area to investigate the causes and prevent future disasters, while the political parties blame each other for mishandling the crisis.

Transcript

00:00While Spain is still recovering from the Dana in Valencia, other areas have flooded again due to heavy rains this week.

00:09Political accountability for the handling of the disaster in Valencia has not yet been addressed.

00:14Many consider it a failure, but who is responsible?

00:19It is up to the autonomous community to alert the citizens, to be aware of the possible risks for the population.

00:25From there, once the catastrophe has occurred, then the political friction is emerging,

00:31regarding whether the national government should have been directly involved in taking the reins of the crisis.

00:37It is not advisable at all for the government to intervene in the most initial phase of the crisis.

00:41But of course, in the medium and long term, the situation of the president of the autonomous community, Mr. Mazón, remains very touched.

00:47It is a very confusing situation and, in my opinion, it is the one that comes out most affected by this crisis.

00:59I think it is very unlikely that the hittings will not happen.

01:02In addition to the political crisis that has broken out after the Dana,

01:05there is also a great concern for the hydrographic management that will be done from now on in that area.

01:11It is a complicated area that tends to flood.

01:14Many scientists have moved there these days,

01:17with the aim of looking for solutions that will facilitate the lives of the neighbors in the future.

01:22They point to a responsible one, climate change.

01:28The river overflowed, so that made it merge with different streams and collapse with all the villages.

01:34Climate change has been very important.

01:36There should not have been so many torrential rains.

01:39The water in the rivers should not have overflowed so much, it should have been much more controlled.

01:43The biodiversity that was there has disappeared.

01:45Why? Because the mud, the water is quite polluted there.

01:49We have had to go with masks.

01:51We, for example, entered a garage and smelled fermentation,

01:55the pure fermentation of mud, bacteria, and that is really toxic to health, to the lungs.

02:05The Spanish Meteorological Agency acted, warned.

02:08What did not arrive in time was the emergency alarm that the government has to give to people.

02:14Now all that remains is to assist the recovery efforts and to plan better for the future.

02:38For more UN videos visit www.un.org

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