On the day of the devastating flood on October 29, 2024, Valencia authorities deployed only 19 out of 121 available forest firefighters, which is just 15% of the total specialists. According to El Pais, most professionals trained to work in emergency situations were sent home as early as 19:30, even as the death toll reached dozens and hundreds of people remained trapped in homes, cars, and on the streets.
Limited Mobilization
According to a report submitted to Judge Nuria Ruiz Tobarra, only five units were operating at the scene, with just two of them equipped with vehicles. These teams rescued about 40 people and evacuated over 150 to safe areas. However, most of the 26 forest firefighting units in Valencia province were not fully staffed and lacked the necessary equipment to operate in flood conditions.
It is separately noted that the helicopter team from Siete Aguas was not involved on October 29, 30, or 31, and the unit from Enguera joined only on the 31st. In neighboring provinces, the first units began working even later: in Castellón only on the night of October 30, and in Alicante on October 31.
Unexpected Orders and Consequences
The report pays special attention to the actions of the unit from Buñol, which was deployed to monitor water levels in the Barranco del Pollo in Chiva. According to their account, the situation appeared calm upon arrival, but the water level soon began to rise. Nevertheless, at 14:40 they were unexpectedly ordered to leave their post, and it remains unknown who issued this order. After 16:00, water began entering the homes of Chiva residents, while streams from the Barranco Orteta and Gallego led to numerous casualties in the L’Horta Sud region.
After being authorized to withdraw at 19:30, some firefighters remained at the base, while others were stranded at a gas station or on the A-3 highway, where their vehicles were engulfed by a wave of water. Only around eleven at night did the water level start to recede, allowing some rescuers to return to base, after which they headed back out—this time without an official order—to assist on the highway.
Work of individual units
The unit from Chelva operated in Utiel, helping evacuate victims to a medical center and rescuing people using a tractor. Due to blocked roads, they were forced to spend the night in the Requena park. A team from Alzira rescued about 15 people and eight dogs from a flooded house in Alcúdia. In Requena, firefighters were first called only at 14:00 to rescue an elderly woman, and then continued to evacuate people with limited mobility, discovering a deceased couple in one of the homes.
In Yátova, some rescuers remained at the base, others were trapped at a gas station, and those who took the A-3 found themselves caught when water from the Gallo ravine, which flows into the Pollo, flooded the road. The situation is described as a ‘military scenario,’ where volunteers from Buñol carried out about 20 rescue operations and helped evacuate more than 150 people from the highway.
Context and reaction
Decisions regarding mobilization and deployment of forces on the day of the tragedy still raise questions. It is unclear who exactly gave orders to withdraw teams from key locations and why a significant portion of professionals were left inactive at a critical moment. As El Pais notes, these details form the basis of an investigation led by a judge from Catarroja.
Questions regarding authorities’ actions and the allocation of resources in emergency situations have been raised before. Other high-profile cases involving the operation of government agencies in Valencia have also sparked debates about the timeliness and effectiveness of decisions—as, for example, in the situation with Monica Oltra’s return to politics amid judicial proceedings, previously reported in a RUSSPAIN article.
