The Generalitat Valenciana accuses the Government of 'information blackout' during the DANA

The regional secretary of Environment and Territory of the Generalitat, Raúl Mérida, has lashed out at the central Government following the management of the recent episode of increased flow in the Rambla del Poyo. Mérida has denounced a "news blackout" of more than two and a half hours, supported, according to him, by the Júcar Hydrographic Confederation (CHJ) itself.

"The Government mixes data and versions because it knows that for two and a half hours there was a news blackout confirmed by the CHJ: no one sent an email, no one made a call, no one reported the increase in flow," Mérida stated in reply to the statements of the Secretary of State for the Environment, Hugo Morán, and the Government delegate in the Valencian Community, Pilar Bernabé.

Silence at a critical moment

Mérida detailed that, during the morning, communication management was more diligent. At 11:06, it was notified by email that the flow had exceeded 150 m³/s (5292.15 ft³/s), reaching 264 m³/s (9323.64 ft³/s) with an upward trend. Subsequently, updates were sent at 13:42 and 14:04, reporting a decrease in flow to 120 m³/s (4237.76 ft³/s), and at 15:04 and 16:13, it was confirmed that it continued to drop to 29 m³/s (1024.67 ft³/s).

However, from 17:00, the situation changed drastically. "The CHJ detected that the flow began to rise again, exceeding the morning alert threshold at 17:30. Despite the severity, no one was informed until 18:43, when an email was sent alerting of an alarming flow of 1,700 m³/s (60035.3 ft³/s), equivalent to four times the flow of the Ebro," Mérida denounced.

Criticism of risk management

The regional secretary emphasized that during that critical period "no additional warning was issued, neither by email, nor by phone, nor in person at the CECOPI, despite having representatives there." He also recalled that the president of the CHJ, Miguel Polo, admitted that "no information was provided about the Rambla del Poyo."

Mérida also accused Bernabé of "consciously mixing rainfall and flow data," pointing out that the regulations establish that it is the Confederation's responsibility to alert about circulating flows and the risk of overflow.

Lack of an early warning system

Another critical aspect pointed out by Mérida is the absence of an Early Warning System in the Júcar basin, unlike the Ebro Confederation. "An emergency supplement has been contracted for the system that will allow quickly converting rainfall into flow," he indicated.

For the regional secretary, the Government's explanations can only be due to "a profound ignorance of the hydraulic functioning of a river basin or an attempt to confuse public opinion and hide the information void."