On Friday, new details emerged in the Catarroja court about the actions of regional authorities on the day of the devastating flood that claimed 229 lives in Valencia. Juanafran Pérez Llorca, a candidate for the presidency of the Valencian Community from the Partido Popular, testified as a witness and shared insights about his communication with colleagues during the height of the disaster.
According to Pérez Llorca, on the evening of October 29, 2024, he contacted Carlos Mazón to get an update on the situation in Utiel, which had become the epicenter of the disaster after the Magro river overflowed. However, in response he was informed about another affected area — La Ribera. At that moment, Pérez Llorca decided to alert the mayors of neighboring municipalities about the developing events.
At the same time, Mazón had just left the restaurant El Ventorro, where he had spent several hours at lunch with journalist Maribel Vilaplana. Pérez Llorca noted that he didn’t know the president’s whereabouts and emphasized that his calls to Mazón and then justice and interior affairs councilor Salomé Pradas were purely coincidental.
Contact with Pradas was not established immediately: at first, she did not answer the call, but later she got in touch, explaining that she was busy with urgent work. At that moment, she was at the Cecopi coordination center in L’Eliana, where the decision to send an Es Alert emergency notification to residents’ mobile phones was being discussed. This alert was only issued at 20:11, by which time most of the missing had already died, making it one of the key points in the investigation.
Pérez Llorca also said that on that day he was in communication with party colleagues and mayors of municipalities not affected by the disaster. He could not recall the exact time of his conversation with Mazón’s adviser, José Manuel Cuenca, but noted that he had discussed the ongoing events with him. In addition, he maintained contact with the president of the Valencia provincial administration, Vicente Mompó, to stay updated on the situation.
During the hearing, Pérez Llorca emphasized that he had a working relationship with former adviser Pradas and former emergency secretary Emilio Argüeso, who is also involved in the case. Regarding Mazón, he said their relations remained proper.
The judge summoned Pérez Llorca for questioning at the same time as six other senior officials from Mazón’s government. Particular attention was given to his testimony, as he is considered the successor to the current president. On the day of the tragedy, he and Pradas had three brief phone conversations recorded during the period after the Barranco del Poyo burst, which marked the beginning of the disaster.
Before Pérez Llorca, El Ventorro restaurant owner Alejandro Romero testified in court. This new round of questioning began after the Valencia Provincial Court ordered that journalist Vilaplana be summoned to testify. Previously, the Catarroja judge had refused to do so, fearing the investigation’s focus would shift to Mazón. As the current president has immunity, he may only be summoned by order of the High Court of the Valencian Community following a special request from the judge.
