AEMET on the Day of the DANA That Caused 224 Deaths: 'We Won't Confuse You with More Warnings'

AEMET Downplayed the Alert Hours Before the DANA That Caused 224 Deaths in Valencia: "We're Not Going to Bother You with More Warnings"

A revealing audio, accessed by EDATV NEWS, exposes the lack of urgency with which the Spanish Meteorological Agency (AEMET) communicated its forecasts to Emergencies 112 of the Generalitat Valenciana on October 29, the day a DANA devastated 103 municipalities in the province of Valencia, leaving a tragic toll of 224 dead and three missing.

In the recording, an AEMET technician addresses her counterpart in Emergencies with a reassuring message: "We're not going to bother you with more warnings. The maximum rainfall will move toward the north and, above all, toward the interior." This communication, made at 12:05 p.m., just eight hours before the disaster, reflects a concerning lack of alarm about what was coming.

The audio shows a routine conversation, with no signs of extreme concern or critical warnings that could have activated more robust emergency protocols. This attitude dramatically contrasts with the devastating impact of the DANA, which caused floods, river overflows, and the loss of numerous lives.

The president of the Generalitat, Carlos Mazón, has defended that the forecasts he received reflected exactly the message of the audio: intense rains, but moving toward the north and the interior, far from the areas that ended up being the most affected.

AEMET, dependent on the Ministry of Ecological Transition, then led by Teresa Ribera, is at the center of the controversy. The lack of more forceful alerts and the underestimation of the risk highlight failures in emergency management. Meanwhile, the Secretary of State for the Environment, Hugo Morán, was traveling in Colombia on the day of the disaster, far from the epicenter of the tragedy.

This lack of early reaction calls into question the effectiveness of meteorological alert protocols and opens the debate on AEMET's responsibility in the catastrophe suffered in Valencia.