In October 2024, the Valencian Community was struck by a major natural disaster. Torrential rains caused several key waterways, including the barranco del Poyo, to overflow. By early afternoon, road conditions across the region had become critical: dozens of sections were flooded, traffic came to a standstill, and local residents did not receive timely warnings of the impending danger.
According to documents provided by the CGT union, regional authorities had all the necessary information about the scale of the threat even before official alerts were issued. The report notes that as early as 3:14 p.m. local time, a number of roads managed by the autonomous government, the province, and the state were closed due to flooding. These included sections near the barranco del Poyo, Pozalet, Gayo, and Chiva. Despite this, emergency services did not activate the relevant civil protection protocols, and residents remained unaware of the actual level of threat.
Flooded roads
The report details specific cases of road closures. For example, the CV-383 highway, situated between two hazardous waterways, was shut down at 3:14 p.m. This occurred less than two kilometers from the town of Loriguilla. Another case was the federal A-3 highway, where traffic was stopped near Chiva at 4:46 p.m. According to investigators, tragic incidents resulting in fatalities took place in this area.
The CV-379, a provincial road, was closed for more than two kilometers near Chiva as early as 3:15 pm. It runs just a hundred meters from the Gayo riverbed, which later becomes part of the region’s major waterway. Even earlier, at 11:18 am, the CV-421 was closed, followed by the CV-4242 in Godelleta at 11:50 am. According to the report’s authors, all these facts indicate that the scale of the disaster was evident long before official warnings were issued.
Losses and mistakes
Particular attention is given to the tragedy in Chiva, where more than 160 emergency calls were made to 112 in a single day. Over a hundred of those calls were registered after an operational coordination center had already been set up in the region. Nevertheless, observation posts, evacuation efforts, and restrictions on access to hazardous areas were not fully implemented.
The CGT report notes that many victims were trapped by the disaster in their vehicles, on farmlands, in basements and garages, as well as on roads that had officially been closed hours before the tragedy. In several cases, people were just a few hundred meters from areas with active traffic restrictions, but received neither warnings nor assistance.
Coordination failures
The authors of the report highlight serious violations in the implementation of the Flood Control Plan. These include the lack of on-site mobile management teams, delays in notifying municipal authorities, and belated, insufficiently specific warnings to the public. Instead of targeted alerts, residents received only general notifications, often when the danger had already reached a critical level.
The document emphasizes that authorities had all the necessary information: weather reports, emergency calls, and data on road closures. However, this information was not used for timely action. As a result, according to the CGT, there were major oversights that led to fatalities and widespread destruction.
